Child of Sekhmet
by DinoGlitter
Summary: Veilandih Tokar is a genius, billionare, nerdy, philanthropist. His work brings joy to anyone and makes life easier for many. His life has always been built around those he saw as family, creating new toys, and keeping his contracts on a tight leash. He is at the top of the business world and only one man stands equal to him. Tony Stark.
1. Offerings and Sacrifices

A/N:I have been wanting to start this for literally like a year. I'm excited to finally have an idea to roll with and post here. I hope you enjoy this MCU 500 word a chap fliclit series. I plan to take this to the end of the Marvel movies so hopefully it will work out. The story begins when Veil is 4 and will hop around until the MCU storyline starts, which will be around chapter 24. I hope you like it.

Adult Veilandih - 90s Jaye Davidson (think more along the lines of stargate rather than crying game, but his hair is still a beautiful mane of curls lol.

The first thing he always remembered when he was four was the fire. Then the blood dripping from the ceremonial blade of a priest of Ghekre. He remembers being to shocked to cry or scream. His parents bodies laid at his feet. Their lifeless eyes stared back into his, lifeless and milky. He remembered being left in his burning home to die within its smokey walls. Next was a bright light encompassing the room and a comforting warmth on his burning flesh. A soothing voice that reminded him of his mother cooing in his ear.

"Rest my cub, your suffering shall be rewarded."

After that it was all blank. His next memories are of the hospital ceiling within Birnin Zana. His grandmother's tear streaked face was at his bedside. At the sight of his opened eyes, she let out a startled gasp. His eyes, once a deep chocolate brown, were now a molten liquid gold. His Grandmother called for her husband, the doctor, and the king.

The doctor was amazed to see him awake so soon, but that was overshadowed by Queen N'yami's words upon her arrival alongside the king .

"He has the eyes of a lioness. Sekhmet has given him her blessing."

His Grandmother was in shock.

"That is impossible! We are followers of the Panther God! Why would she not bless one of her own?!"

The king looked at him with calculating eyes. The king then approached him with a determined posture.

"She has apparently seen something in the boy worth saving him. Otherwise a lot more of His flesh would have been marred."

Those words always haunted him. They were what brought his attention to his right leg. The skin there was inflamed and charred. A sticky looking salve was covering the entirety of the burnt skin that ran all the way up to his lower thigh. Something in his mind told him that this scar would never leave and would be a constant reminder of his parent's murder.

The king turned to his grandmother and grandfather, his mother's parents and now his only living relatives, and gave them a look of understanding.

"I must ask that you go through with your plan of leaving Wakanda until we find those behind your daughter's murder."

His grandparents looked highly upset but did not protest. His grandfather looked to their king with determination and sorrow.

"We shall prepare while our grandson recovers from his injuries."

With a nod to his grandparents king T'chaka left the room. The queen gave him a smile of comfort before following her husband. The doctor wrapped his leg in bandages and made sure he wasn't in any pain before finally leaving. He sat in silence deep within his thoughts as a cold chill settled in the room. He remembers the last thing his mother told him with crystal clarity.

"Veilandih, don't forget to place the offering on the altar little one. The panther god protects us all so we must always show our respects ."


	2. Pity and Inspiration

"Veilandih, I hope you are not still in bed child!" A voiced called up the stairs of a cozy yet upscale townhouse in Notting Hill.

A series of small rapid footsteps echoed from upstairs as a small child the age of 10 hurried down to the parlor. His skin was the color of coffee with a light amount of cream. A halo of bouncing dark chocolate curls sprouted from his head reaching the base of his skull. A soft whit t-shirt hung off of his body nearly hiding the dark blue shorts beneath. The only thing off about the youth's appearance was the presence of a large burn that covered almost the entirety of his tiny leg. He skidded across the polished cherry wood flooring in his little yellow ankle socks. He came to a halt in the kitchen doorway and gave a bright smile to The older woman at the island sipping from a teacup. She returned the smile before gesturing to the food set opposite of her.

"Eat your lunch now dear it's time to take your medicine." She said.

"Okay umakhulu." Veilandih replied hopping onto the stool in front of his food.

His Grandmother gave him a sad frown as he ate. They waited a week before taking off for London, England. They had contacted a doctor there who specialized in severe burns on adolescents. As soon as they settled in their new home they took their grandson in to meet the specialist. The doctor looked over the four year old's injury with pity as she recalled the tearful call she made days before about how he obtained the burn. He prescribed some anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, and creams to help with the healing. It would be some time before Veilandih would be able to walk somewhat normally. The nerve damage done to his leg would surely leave him with a permanent limp. He would be in physical therapy for years.

She did not count on Sekhmet's blessing easing along his recovery at a much quicker pace. His mobility improved in a little over a year and the burn healed fully a few years after. However Veilandih's leg would remain scared well into his adulthood.

Veilandih was not ignorant of the stares he received from others. They were the main reason he usually covered his legs. He didn't want to be treated differently from other kids, but he knew he would be pitied by anyone who knew about his leg. He worked harder, studied everything that caught his interest until one day he knew what he wanted to be known for. His grandfather took him to the movies while his grandmother went to work at a research facility. Tron was the most amazing thing Veilandih had ever seen and he became obsessed. He got all the posters, memorabilia, and his grandfather even got his hands on a autographed light disk. All of the technology he saw in the movie, despite being fictional, inspired him. He was going to build.


	3. Relationships and Craft

Veil paced his little workshop in contemplation. He was applying to university in America and had no idea what he should do. He knew he wanted to do something with robotics and locomotion, but he also wanted to work with physics and aerodynamics. Maybe he could do it all and combine them.

At that thought Ideas started to shoot through his mind. Hi-tech toys to help children of all backgrounds, cars with far better safety capabilities, even light therapy goggles for eye problems. So many ideas blossomed in his head so he hurried to write it all down. Veil

was determined to see his ideas flourish. He submitted to MIT and several other prestigious institutes, but MIT was his first choice.

"Veilandih why don't you come up for dinner." His grandfather said from the doorway. "Your work will be their when you get back."

Veil smiled before following his elder to the kitchen. He picked up their plates as his grandmother took some bread from the oven. He set them on the table before heading to the fridge for the water pitcher.

"How goes the application work?" His Grandmother smiled at him.

"I'm having a hard time choosing my field of study." Veil sighed setting the pitcher down.

"Robotics has always been your passion, start there and get a feel for school life before pursuing other degrees." She said petting his hair as she passed him.

Veil's grandparents were so proud of him for his accomplishments throughout his school years. He built his own computers with whatever they brought with them from their trips to Wakanda as well as the scrap hardware from their lab jobs, his work table was littered with mechanical sketches of all kinds, and the thing he took the most pride in creating was his own remote controlled recognizer.

His inability to gain friends left Veil with a lot of free time. He was lonely and filled that hole in his life with movies, comic books and video games. He became a recluse and often shut himself up in his room. By the time He leaves for school his grandparents had given up hope of ever seeing Veilandih with people his own age.

Two weeks into his first semester of school he meets an eccentric teen named Anthony, "Call me Tony Coco puff", Stark. The older teen was in his second year of college and had plans to graduate at 17 and have his master's by 19. Veil found the teen fascinating and somehow found himself within the exclusive friend circle of the Stark Industries heir.

"Hey Godiva, Rhodey and I are having movie night you in?" Tony grinned at the the long haired wakandian.

Veil looked up from soldering his midterm project and smiled. He pushed his goggles up and cut the gas on his torch.

"Sure, just give me 15 minutes to finish up this mini light cycle frame." Veil replied

Tony gave the other teen a knowing look.

"You're obsession is showing." Tony smiled.


	4. Asgaurdians and Chai

Their friendship started as a coincidence. They had the same order at starbucks, Venti pumpkin spice chai tea latte extra whipp, and reached for the cup at the same time. Veilandih felt intimidated by the tall woman who looked as if she had just walked off the cover of Vouge. Her blonde hair shimmered in the sunlight streaming in from the coffee shop windows. Her eyes were filled with amusement. Veil couldn't help but back away from her, nervously tucking a strand of his shoulder length curls behind his ear.

"Sorry, I'll take the next one." He said nervously.

The woman smirked down at him before grabbing the drink.

"When you get your latte join me." She said in a sultry voice.

Veil nods too afraid to turn the woman down. The barista places the latte in front of him a few minutes after leaving him with no excuse to stay away from her. He cautiously makes his way over to the table the woman is sitting at only to see another man at her side with a venti cup and vanilla scone before him. They both look up at him in amusement before the pale man gestures for him to sit in the unoccupied chair. Veil sits and gazes down at his cup in apprehension of what the two would say.

"Well, he certainly is a meek little thing." The male said taking a sip of his drink.

"I am not little." Veil pouted. "You two are just freakish amazons.

The woman snickered at his words before smiling at him.

"Well aren't you a cheeky one." She says before gesturing to herself and her friend "You shall call me Amora and him Loki."

Veil gave them a confused look.

"Loki, like in norse mythology?" he asked.

Loki grinned at the teen before scoffing.

"Those stories are nothing but refuse you mortals concocted as bedtime stories for children."

Veilandih tilted his head in confusion.

"You speak as if you are the actual Loki."

Amora and Loki smirked at him as their eyes glowed twin shades of fluorescent green.

"Oh my fuck." Veilandih gasped.

The two enchanters chuckle at the human's shocked face. Amora reached across the table to pat him on the shoulder.

"Come now darling surely you felt our magic when you entered this place." she said.

"Of course not, why would I feel something like that?" Veil asked.

The Asgardians looked at one another in confusion.

"You don't know about your magic?" Loki questioned. "I can practically taste the ancient power you are leaking mortal."

"I have a name." Veil glared.

"Do tell us." Amora purred.

"Veilandih." veil replied.

"Such a unique name." She smiled.

"Where are you from to receive such a name Veilandih?" Loki asks.

Veil shivered at his words before replying.

"Only my friends can know that."

"Then we shall become shield brothers." Loki grinned. "You will learn of magic and we shall learn of your magic."

Veil gave the trickster God a disbelieving look.


	5. Friends and Mischief

Loki had draped himself over the multiple giant plush pillows set up on veil's dorm floor. The pale god smirked at the frantic teen as he rushed around cleaning up non-existent clutter from the floor.

"Expecting a visit from a certain doe-eyed Stark?" He grinned.

Veilandih froze at the tricksters words. His head snapped around to look at the Pale Man in horror.

" I am not cleaning because of Tony." Veil said in denial. " I am cleaning because he said he wanted me to meet his mother."

Loki gave a shark like grin to the teen before replying.

"Meeting the parents already? You have skipped ahead two whole steps in the relationship process. I guess Stark had little need to be courted properly since you two are basically the same person." Loki smirked.

Veil's draw dropped at his statement. Tony was vastly different from him. They actually only had similar college studies and career paths. Beyond that you were basically comparing a sort of alcoholic lothario to a magical tea enthusiastic nerd. The two did not even fit on the same wavelength and yet somehow they manage to be friends. Veil was by no means shy, even if he got his first friends at 16 and they were technically aliens from another dimension, so he was not feeling privileged to have Tony as a friend.

Tony was a difficult person to be friends with when it came to his often rambunctious personality. It was the equivalent to being both a brother and a lawyer at once. Tony often lived in the moment and didn't think of the consequences. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing but Tony was a Stark. The media will blow everything he would ever do out of proportion. He knew that a shitstorm would role in if he confessed to Tony and the genius actually returned the feelings. The public hated the teenage Stark and loved to see what he would do next to fall.

"We are extremely different people Lo, I'm surprised we can even stand one another." Veil said putting some books onto his shelves. "We are basically competitors for the same type of job."

Veil then paused in thought.

"Although we do enjoy the same types of music." He added with a shrug.

This statement caused Veil to think of more similarities between the two. Besides their music taste they both play various instruments, like fast cars, watched old movies, and crave a good puzzle. Veil just sent himself into shock.

"Veilandih your magic is running amok, have you not been doing the meditations?" Loki question is he stood from his perch.

"I have." Vail ground in exasperation as he fell back into his mustard yellow papasan chair. "I just worked myself up a bit is all."

"I'm sure Stark will keep you plenty worked up." Loki chuckled before popping out of the room in a plume of golden sparks.

Veil huffed staring at where the god once stood.

"He's such a dramatic bitch."


	6. Stark and Tragedy

A young adult's 21st year is meant to be filled with drunken mischief and bad life choices. It's a time for fun and above all a give no fucks attitude. For one Tony Stark it was one of the most horrible years of his life.

Slender fingers carded through Tony's hair as he lay down across Veilandih's lap. His face was eerily calm about his situation, but he could not let his youngest friend know what had happened. His father was never involved with him unless he had something to benefit Howard. His mother was always distant but at the very least she came around for important events. Even if it was just to show off how great a family they were. If only the world knew.

Tony glanced up at the man attempting to comfort him. Veil had been sitting quietly for over an hour just staring into space. His brow was furrowed and concentration. His glazed-over eyes seeing something Tony could not. He looked over Veilandih in contemplation noticing all the changes the younger male have gone through since their meeting years ago. His hair was much longer now reaching a little past his narrow shoulders. Sprinkling of moles found their way across his skin and Tony swears one set of them on his arm could be the constellation Leo. His friend continues to deny it. His accent was slowly evening out to a more Americanized version of his Xhosa tinted British. Tony needed this comfort and did not take the attention for granted.

A sudden knocking on his bedroom door caught Tony's attention. It's slowly opened to reveal Jarvis with a tray in one hand and a phone in the other. He's at the trailer down revealing too cups of steaming tea and proceeded to hold out the phone to the young Stark.

"Mister Obadiah Stane for you." the older man said with a small sad smile.

"Thanks J." Tony replied grabbing the phone from the butler.

Veilandih gazed down at him with a small frown on his face. His caramel syrup eyes were freely in display and no longer hidden behind contacts. Tony never told him to his face but he absolutely adored his eyes. They were warm and captivating. There was a strength in him that Tony knew he would never have. A ferocity that stayed dormant until provoked. Apparently that provoker was on the other end of the phone.

" Hey Tony just checking on you kid. How you holding up?" Obadiah asked in a concerned voice that made Veil's frown deepen.

"I'm fine Obi." He said reaching up to trace the dots on his friend's arm. "Just taking some time."

Veil smiled softly at Tony's actions before leaning down to kiss the older man's forehead. Tony smiled back as he hummed in reply to Obadiah's prodding. He was drowning in those golden pools and an odd sense of satisfaction had overcome him knowing he was the only person outside of family to see them.


	7. Family and Scars

The funeral had come and past leaving an ugly shadow hanging over the heads of all of them. Tony started spiraling out of control with his destructive habits. He drank, partied, and slept around on a daily basis. Veil and Rhodey worried and did anything they could for him in their spare time.

Veil was finishing graduate school and had recently been contacted by his grandparents. After he finished undergrad they return to Wakanda. They were contacted by King T'Chaka himself to inform them that the murderers of Veil's parents had finally been captured and executed. They were invited back to their previous jobs in the tech labs and encouraged him to come back for his internship credits. He was incredibly happy with the idea and knew it was a perfect way to reconnect with his homeland again. He also knew that he would leave Tony without one of his core pillars of support, but it was his one chance to go back and make peace with the loss of his family and get answers about his powers.

Veil called Rhodey to let him know about his upcoming trip before making his way into his apartment. He sat his phone and keys on his kitchen counter before heading to his bathroom. He turns on the shower allowing the water to heat up as he strips off his clothes and pulls on a fluffy gray robe. Wandering out into his bedroom he gathered up a pair of sleep pants and shirt before nearly jumping out of his skin at the sound of a mischievous voice.

" I think this may be the first time I've ever seen you in a state of undress."

Veilandih whipped his head around in shock. at Loki's words and stares at the taller being with wide eyes. Loki let his eyes drift over the Wakandian's frame before settling his unnerving stare on his scarred right leg. Veil frowned at the Asgaurdian's intense gaze.

"Please don't." Veil sighs in a knowing tone. "It has been with me since I was small and I have always accepted it as a part of me."

Loki glances up to his eyes before turning his attention back to the disfigured skin.

"Show me." Loki demands.

Veil rolls his eyes before untying the belt of his robe and dropping it to his feet. Loki payed no mind to the rest of the younger's form as he crouched down to inspect the damaged flesh. The god's hand reached out and trailed his fingertips across the uneven scars. Veil shivered at the touch as his eyes widened in shock.

"Do you wish them gone?" Loki asked returning to his full height. "I could glamor your scars."

Veil glanced down at his leg before meeting his friend's eyes once more.

"I can not see myself without these scars. They are a reminder of my survival, my parents, and my blessings." Veilandih says softly. "To hide them is say nothing that happened in the past meant anything."


	8. Anger and Desperation

Veil was getting incredibly frustrated with Tony and his reckless actions. He had only been running stark industries for a few years and he already got himself into a ton of bad publicity. He was drinking, partying, and sleeping with women left and right. He was destroying himself all because he didn't want to be like his dick of a father.

Veil was now in school for his doctorate in physics and finally had time for a break. His plan was to surprise Tony by showing up in Malibu to celebrate his new home. What he did not plan was to walk in on Tony and a pair of twins.

Veil stood still taking in the sight of a smirking Tony with two scantily dressed blondes draped over him on the dark plush couch.

"So I guess my surprising you would be useless right now huh." Veil sighed setting an expensive bottle of Dalmore scotch on the coffee table.

Tony's head snapped up to the shorter male in shock.

"Coco Puff?" he asked in confusion.

Veil gave him a Sharp smile before turning to leave. The sound of rushing bare feet slapping on the floor was the only thing to warn him of the hand that soon coiled around his bicep.

"Veil wait." Tony huffed as he tried to steady his breathing.

Veilandih side eyes him out of the corner of his round prescription lenses. Tony look confused and worried causing a bit of guilt to bubble up within him. He shook it off as he continued toward the front door. Tony's grip was right as he tried to pull the other back.

"Jarvis open the door." Veil called out to the A.I.

"JARVIS KEEP THAT DOOR LOCKED!" Tony yelled jumping in front of Veilandih.

Veil scowled as he tried to get around the elder man.

"Of course sir, but master Tokar has complete authorization to the security systems so I can not stop him from leaving without breaking protocol." Jarvis voiced with uncertainty.

Veil looked shocked before shaking his head in disbelief.

"When were you going to tell me about that?" Veil asked with unshed tears.

Tony shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another. He avoided the younger's gaze and remained silent.

"if you trust me enough for this, why couldn't you tell me about your parents, or the fact that you were taking over the company, or even the fact that you got this fucking house Tony!" Veil yelled as the tears of frustration fell.

Tony looked at him in shock.

" I had to find out from TV, magazines, and Rhodey just to see what you're up to. We're supposed to be friends but you hold me at arm's length. If you don't want me around tell me to get lost because otherwise I don't know what you want from me and right now I honestly can't stand to look at you. Goodbye Tony." Veilandih shoved past the other man not looking back to see Tony's face.


	9. Breakthroughs and Spas

Veil would never tell Amora that her spa dates worked miracles, because the enchanter would make fun of him for weeks after any form of compliment, but they really helped ease his mind and de-stress. Loki wholeheartedly agreed with him. At the moment, all three magic users were in tightly packed full body seaweed wraps, dead sea mud masks and cucumber sliced on their faces, and three women were currently massaging their hands and feet.

"Loki, whatever happened to that lovely barista you were courting darling?" Amora asked after releasing a deep sigh of content.

"Lets just say he was far more interested in calling me derogatory terms in bed than actually doing the job." Loki replied flippantly.

"I told you nothing good would come from picking up strange people at the local coffee shop." Veilandih grinned.

Loki tilted his head back and scoffed.

"You are one to talk." He snipped. "What about that deranged boy you met at school?"

Veil shifted uncomfortably on his padded table.

"Anthony and I had a fight. He is a stubborn arse who won't let anyone in." he huffed.

"Sounds to me like you just want him to open you up." Amora smirked.

Veilandih choked on his spit in shock.

"I DO NOT!" Veil hissed.

Loki and Amora laugh so hard that their face masks start cracking. Veil pouts in embarrassment. When the two Asgardians finally calm down the spa attendants are removing their seaweed wraps. The cucumbers were taken off of their eyes revealing a glare and two looks of mischief.

"You guys are bloody aresholes." Veil huffed.

"Don't get mad just because you heard the truth darling." Amora grinned. "You love that little morsel and you hate the way he sleeps around."

"Perhaps you should crawl into his bed one evening as a surprise." Loki grinned.

"NO!" Veil cried in embarrassment.

They all knew that Veilandih was in denial about his feelings, but Veil was just as stubborn as the man he had come to have feelings for. After their first meeting a few years ago, Tony and he had fallen into a technological bromance. Veil contributed everything his grandparents taught him from Wakanda's research labs, and his own unique ideas on robotics. Tony brought his genius intellect and Dum-E. Veil adored the robot and its constant need to be helpful. He affectionately refers to Dum-e as Sweetheart to make the robotic arm feel special. His grandmother even knitted little gloves for it.

Veil knew that Tony wasn't one to settle down. He knew that there was no way in hell Tony would ever be attracted to men. His so called best friends made it sound so easy. Hell, they made obtaining the object of your affections look easy. Amora only needed to bat her lashes at a man and Loki used his words. They were what Tony looked for in a bed partner. Veil wouldn't stand a chance against people like them.

"I can hear you insecurities dear." Amora drawled.


	10. Apologies and Chocolate

Veil had just put the last of his clothing in his suitcase when a soft knock echoed through the dim studio loft. He frowned making his way toward the door and unlatching the deadbolt. He pulled the large warehouse door aside to reveal a large Godiva chocolate gift basket and 2 ultimate truffle boxes. Tony poked his head out from behind the basket with a timid smile.

"I come bearing gifts." he said holding out the gifts. "I even special ordered a second truffle box with just the lemon sorbet, aztec spice, creamsicle, and strawberry mousse ones, your favorites."

Veilandih sighed before taking the truffle boxes from Tony's arms revealing 3 large milk chocolate bunnies. Veil snorted at the sight before making his way over to his papasan. He plopped down motioning for Tony to come in. Veil tugged the ribbon off of one of the truffle boxes and proceeded to open it and pluck a delicate looking yellow truffle from the box. Tony set the horde of chocolate on the coffee table before rushing back to the door to shut it. He took a seat on the soft looking beige loveseat beside the younger man's chair. Tony sat in his seat a bit hunched over as he avoided eye contact with the other man. Viel popped the lemon filled chocolate in his mouth as he stared the Stark CEO down.

"So, what gives with the candy cache?" Veilandih asks casually as he savored his sweet treat.

Tony looked up to meet the others penetrating stare with unsure eyes.

"I'm so sorry for all my shit Veilandih. You have trusted me with so much and I couldn't even give you back an inkling of what you gave me." Tony said shakily. "Will you ever forgive me for my angsty teen drama bullshit Cookie crisp?"

Veil sighed setting his box of truffles with the other chocolates. Veil gave Tony a small amused smile.

"Consider your groveling a success Stark…...but" He started standing from his seat making Tony's eyes widen. "I forgave you the second I walked out of your house."

Veil grinned at Tony's confused look before moving to sit by his side. He presses a quick kiss to the other's scruffy chin and leans his head onto Tony's shoulder.

"I can never stay angry at you Tony." Veil hums.

Tony sighs and falls back into the couch going boneless in relief taking Veil with him. He wraps an arm around his friend and glances around the apartment. He finally takes note of the suitcases situated on the couch across from them.

"Going somewhere Coco puff?" Tony asked curiously.

"I am returning to my home country for awhile. It's just to work and see my family again. I might be gone for a couple of months at the least." Veil replied softly.

Tony stared at the other in shock before nodding slowly. Veil looked up at him with a frown.

"Don't worry Tony I'll be back before you know it."


	11. Home and Gods

"It is good to see you once again young Veilandih, I trust this is a joyous occasion for you." King T'chaka smiles at the young man before him.

Veilandih gives the king a respective bow before returning with his own modest grin.

"It feels wonderful to be here again after so many years your highness." Veil replies.

Veilandih glances around the throne room in awe and appreciation. The Dora Milaje stood strong throughout the room in their disciplined stance. The king was sat regally upon his throne with is wife Ramonda, his grandparents told him of the previous queen N'yami's passing long ago, beside him. A teenager stood on his other side and Veil had no doubt that this was the prince T'challa.

"I am happy you feel that way." The king started. "Was there something you have had in mind to do upon your return?"

"Yes, I am going to lady Sekhmet's temple to gain some insight on her gifts and why she gave them to me." Veil replied calmly.

"Could you elaborate on these gifts?" Queen Ramonda asks curiously.

"Of course your highness." Veil nodded in acknowledgement. "At the moment I am aware of an enhanced healing factor, extreme flexibility, enhanced sight, increased agility, heightened pain tolerance, and more often than not a small army of cats follows me when I walk around New York. Basically I am a human cat."

The queen gave him an amused smile before the king dismissed him with a similar look of humor.

"It sounds as if she chose you for something by placing so many aspects of herself within you." T'challa spoke drawing the attention of the room. "Maybe if you spoke with her she would reveal her true intentions to you."

Veilandih stared at the prince with a calculated look. Could the lion goddess have ulterior motives for giving him gifts? He really needed to get to the bottom of this.

"I will go there now, I only hope lady Bast will not be offended if I pray to another deity." Veil tells him.

"I am sure the panther goddess will not feel slighted by this due to the circumstances surrounding your actions." King T'chaka said wisely.

Veil smiled before bowing to the royal family and leaving the throne room. It took Veil a little under 10 minutes to make it to Sekhmet's temple. The structure was carved into a large cliff face not far outside of the main city. A set of carved stone stairs ran along beside it for access. It was worn, but still maintained by the small cult following. The temple was eerily quiet as Veilandih cautiously made his way through the mossy stone structure. It was beautiful, but nothing compared to Bast's great halls. He was expecting to find one of Sekhmet's followers at the prayer alter. What Veil did not expect was the lion faced humanoid that seemed to have been waiting for him in the central chamber.

"Welcome child, you have finally returned."


	12. War and Lies

"I have waited many years for your return child." The lioness smirked as she prowled closer to the young Wakandan before her. "Let me gaze upon you."

Something in her tone was completely off from the voice he remembered in his childhood. Veilandih slowly backed away from the feline goddess. She must have noticed his hesitance as she paused in her slow pursuit of him.

"Why do you back away? Surely you have come here to thank me for saving your life and gifting you with my power. I didn't even demand tribute from you. So why are you not stepping forward?" Sekhmet growls as her once warm demeanor slowly bled away.

"Why did you give me these powers?" Veilandih asked in apprehension.

The lion goddess chuckled as she drew a vicious looking Khopesh sword from her belt. She studied the glinting metal in her hand as she answered.

"I chose you out of all of my dear sibling's flock." She spat venomously as she moved forward again. "Your mind was brilliant and I knew that you would be the perfect host for my return to this domain."

Veil scowled at her declaration before rushing back toward the temple entrance. The lioness laughed as she cut him off. He may have been fast, but she was far quicker. She swiped at his head just barely taking off his head as he quickly ducked away. She grinned at the panting male before her as she rushed him with a flurry of attacks. Veil dodged as best he could, obtaining several slashes on his arms and legs in the process. Veil scowled before concentrating on what little defensive magic Loki and Amora taught him before leaving the US. He surrounds himself in a sphere of glowing gold light just as Sekhmet strikes out. Sparks fly off the field as she continuously hits the field.

"I see you were learning to use the power I gave you." She laughs manically. "You should thank me by getting on your knees and giving up your body."

"Phrasing, please rethink it." Veil huffed as his body weakened from the spell protecting him.

Veil breathed in deeply before forcing all of his power out at once with a strangled yell. The gold sphere expanded until it encompassed the entire room knocking the lion goddess back with the force. Veil fell onto his knees in exhaustion. His breathing was labored and his wounds were bleeding profusely. He fell forward only to be caught by a pair of furry and claw tipped hands.

"Oh dear are you well?" A warm voice asked as they crouched before him.

Veilandih glanced up into the large concerned eyes of the lioness. He flinched back, but her grip held him in place. She ran her hands along his wounds healing them in the process. Veil noticed that the goddesses' hair and eyes had changed along with her temperament. This was not Sekhmet.

"Who are you?" Veil asked cautiously.

"I am Hathor." She beamed.


	13. Truth and Power

Veil was shocked and at a complete loss of words. He was being snuggled by Sekhmet's true self, the goddess Hathor.

"You grew up so well little one, I am so pleased my efforts to save you did not fail." She said finally releasing him.

Veil was confused before finally speaking to the cheerful looking goddess.

"You saved me from the fire? You were the voice I heard?"

Hathor gave a joyous laugh before nodding.

"I could sit back and allow such a horrible fate to befall one of Bast's loyal followers, but unfortunately I could not save everyone. So I chose to save the one with the potential to save them self. A child that had not developed fully yet and had the room for magic in their soul. That child was you dear heart." She spoke to him sweetly as she pet his head. "Your magic has grown since I gifted it to you, did you find a teacher to help harness it?"

"Yes." Veilandih replied basking in the warmth and safety Hathor exuded. "Two of them actually, but it was rather recent that I even realized the power was there."

Hathor nodded and stood, pulling Veil to his feet as she did. The goddess reached out and wrapped her hand around Veil's wrist causing a searing pain to shoot through his body. When she let go a hieroglyph was left behind stark black against his skin.

"That is my name to show you are blessed by my hand and can call upon my power regardless of your worship of Bast."

She smiled at the confused man as she tugged a pair of Khopesh similar to what was being swung at him barely 10 minutes ago from thin air. They were gold in color and the hilts of the 2 swords were adorned with tiny versions of Hathor's crown. The goddess lifted the weapons and presented them to Veilandih.

"Take these." She grinned. "Call them a late coming of age gift."

Veil stared at the goddess in shock before taking the heavy swords from her grasp.

"They can help channel my power as you learn to grasp it." Hathor said proudly.

Veil nodded as he studied the sharp edges of the blades. He focused on pushing his magic into the sword and jerked back as the blade caught fire. He stared in awe as the otherworldly blue flames danced before his eyes. This was his power and with Hathor's continued blessing it would only grow stronger.

A sudden grunt of pain drew Veils attention back to Hathor. She was gripping her head in pain as she struggled to stay upright. She made eye contact with him and gave a soft smile.

"Go, the blast your magic caused only knocked me to this state for a short while. Know that whatever my other self says is false. I saved you." Hathor rasped as she wobbled on her feet and growled. "LEAVE NOW!"

Veil left unwillingly, fearing for the goddess.


	14. Return and Companies

6 days in Wakanda and he started to miss Tony. 6 weeks and he missed his fluffy mustard colored chair. 6 months and Veilandih was ready to go back to New York. After the events in Sekhmet's temple Veil immediately returned to the palace to inform the king of what happened. He was then sent to train with the Dora Milaje in order to strengthen his body and mind to help with his magic. Not much had changed, he discovered, with his powers. He still had the advanced agility, healing, strength, and senses. Now, however he had the added kick of manipulating the atmosphere around him. It was odd but he wouldn't complain about it. Loki and Amora would be elated about it.

He trained for a majority of those 6 long months and spent the last of it in the labs learning anything and everything he could. By the 7th month mark of his stay in Wakanda he deemed himself ready to return to the US. He packed his things and said goodbye to his grandparents as well as his new friend Okoye, she kicked his ass on multiple occasions but still cracked a smile at his sci-fi references, before leaving his birth country.

Upon returning home he immediately made a bee line for his workshop, which was actually meant to be his bedroom but he decided to treat his living space as a studio. He decided, while in Wakanda, that he wanted to take Hathor's principles and apply them to his work. He wanted to do something that brought joy and love to people everywhere.

Veil eyed his remote control light cycles and replicators he had created for various projects in his undergrad years. Seeing them set him into motion pulling various scrap tech from bins all over his shop he started to free hand assemble and play with various configurations until he had a tiny motherboard sitting before him. He smiled rolling it in his hand before setting it on his workbench. He walked over to his discarded projects on one of the various shelves in the room and pulled down what appeared to be the robotic skeleton of a 4 legged mammal. He smiled rushing back to his workbench with a brilliant idea on his mind and the intense desire to execute it.

Tony knocked on his door barely a day later with a grin and a large bottle of Fireball in his hand. He took one look at the dark circles under his friend's eyes before demanding to know what the other was creating. When Veil explained his intentions and revealed his project Tony lit up like the grid. They spent days setting up Veil's business proposals before he was ready. A few months later Tokar Tech was born. Veilandih created a business based solely around hi-tech toys and gadgets for adolescents. His first creations were a line of personal assistant animal plushes for children. The first of which he happily named Hathor the Lioness.


	15. Conquest and Allies

Years go by and Tokar International grows with them. Everywhere you looked children played with the electronics companies latest and greatest toys, adults fell over themselves to drive the latest Tokar sports coup, and thousands of companies all over the world jumped at the chance to contract the company for various tech. Veilandih had succeeded in his goal to spread happiness to the people around him. However, Veil hated all of the meetings he had to attend and the business distractions that kept him from creating everything he envisioned. So he hired a few people to help him with the company.

The first was a stand in CEO who would handle the board of directors as well as the public. He chose the most terrifying and confidant person he could think of. They were a woman by the name of Sonya Matthews. She was short standing at 5'2, but her heels brought her up to 5'5 easily. Her crisp pale green eyes froze her enemies in their tracks. Her hair was a dark chestnut brown that loosely curled at the base of her neck. She had a smile that spelled nothing but pain to all that would potentially stand in her way. Her image for the public was a stone cold alpha that could cut you down with her words. In private she was a sassy single mother of a 8 year old princess named Cassandra. Since she was a good 10 years older than him she took Veil under her wing and treated him like one of her own.

The second was an assistant/secretary/anything Veil needed at that moment in time. Roman Liu was his walking reminder alarm. He was 6'0 even and looked like something off the cover of GQ. His casually tousled yet formal hair, tan skin, and brown eyes that made more than a few heads turn whenever he set foot in any of the TI's offices. Veil and Sonya would constantly bet on which interns would strike up the courage to ask him out. Roman kindly lets them all down with a smile and a 'I'm in a highly committed relationship' before walking away.

Veil sighed as he stepped out of the elevator onto the research & development floor of TI Cali. Roman trailed behind him with a smirk on his lips. Veil glanced back at him and almost snarled at him. They had just left a meeting with a severe woman named Maria Hill that only HE could deal with. The organization she worked for basically wanted him to design air force one but with flight capabilities. She even played into his nerd fixation by saying they wanted something that could cloak itself like predator. Veil took that challenge as a threat to his intelligence.

"Make sure to raise the price of the blueprints as high as you can without looking like we are intentionally being dicks to them." Veil grumbled.

"I'll be sure to make note of it V." Roman grinned in reply.


	16. Relationships and AIs

"Tony! I got the snacks!" Veil called out as he entered the kitchen of Tony's Malibu mansion.

He didn't hear a reply and free curious.

"Jarvis, is Tony ok?" He questioned as he pulled the various junk food from the bags he brought in.

"Sir is not in any form of distress at this time." The A.I. replied.

Veil sighed as he made his way toward the stairs. He took them 2 at a time as he walked toward the door of Tony's home lab. From the otherside of the glass wall the room appeared dark with only a florescent blue glow emanating from various work tables. Veil was more confused than curious about his friend now.

"Jarvis, could you open the lab for me please?" Veilandih asked standing at the door.

"Of course Sir." Jarvis replied with a hint of mischief in his British accent.

Veil gazed at one of Jarvis' cameras with a questioning brow raise. He pushed the door open after hearing the click of the lock. Veil stepped into the room and looked around for any sign of Tony or Dum-E. He walked the main console but was startled when it sprang to life. Two tiny holographic light cycles sprang to life in bright white and gold. They started to race and Veil watched with fascinated eyes as the two bikes started to spell something out with their light trails. Veil gasped once they finished the sentence.

'Wanna ride my light cycle?'

Veilandih snickered before full on laughing to the point tears started to well up in his eyes. He didn't even stop when a pair of familiar arms wrapped around his waist. Veil twisted in Tony's arms before throwing his own around the other man's neck. He leaned up planting a soft peck to Tony's lips.

"You are unbelievably corny love." Veil laughed. "What spurred this little confession?"

Tony grinned tugging the lithe male against his chest and kissing the top of his head.

"Well I couldn't do it just any old way cookie crisp, I had to make it special." Tony said. "I have been planning to ask you since the day you came back from Wakanda. When you were gone I had so much time to think. You have put up with a lot of shit from me over the years and I regret a lot of it, but the one thing I will never regret is meeting you. So I will ask you, for real this time, will you be mine?"

"I will, but only if you are mine in return." Veil replied cheekily. "I can be a very jealous lover if I see another thirsting for you affections."

"Then I guess they will have to find a waterhole to drink from." Tony smirked.

A series of beeps echoed around the room as Dum-E and another bot rolled up with a cute stick figure drawings in hand.

"You made another bot?" Veil asked curiously.

"Yep, meet U our 3rd kid." Tony beamed.


	17. Drinks and Complaints

"Then he had the nerve to demand that I oversee the damn thing's construction." Veil scowled before gulping down the rest of the Asgaurdian ale his companions brought to their monthly bitchfest.

"You're not going to simply do as told are you darling?" Amora asked curiously.

"Hell no." Veil smirked. "I plan to set up a few little backdoors and bugs just to have leverage in case things go south with them."

"We taught you well." Loki said in amusement.

The 3 magic users were all sitting around Veilandih's modest Los Angeles apartment with the aim to get drunk and shit talk everything that had occurred since they last met. They were all casually dressed in their lounge wear and Veil was fairly surprised to see just how human the two Asguardians dressed when the opportunity to complain presented itself. Veil refilled his custom Doctor McCoy pint glass before leaning back against his couch. He stretched out his legs so that his feet landed in Amora's lap. She grasped them and proceeded to paint his nails a glittery black color.

"So how are things with your darling Anthony?" Loki asked sipping from his drink as he admired his own emerald colored fingers.

Veil grinned with a dreamy look on her face. Amora smiled and Loki smirked taking another sip of his wine.

"Oh I know a love struck face when I see one kitten, now we simply must discuss." Amora cooed.

Veil sighed before waving his glass off to sit on the coffee table. Loki nodded in approval over the other male's growing control over his magic.

"Tony asked me out a couple of weeks ago. We ended up going out once a week and he always takes me to these awesome places." Veil gushed.

"Do tell." Loki drawled amused.

"Our first date was to a shadow cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show that was amazing, the next one was dinner at this obscure ramen shop he found, and on our last date he flew us to Belgium to Godiva." Veil sighed.

"That is wonderful darling." Amora praised setting his feet on the floor before grabbing her drink.

"What do you have planned for your first time together?" Loki asked impishly. "We both know you are in no way innocent, especially after that one fool. What was his name?"

"Does it matter?" Veil sighed. "And he wasn't a fool we ended on good terms and remain friends."

Amora groaned in exasperation.

"Only you could befriend a one night stand darling."

"Particularly ones spurred on by jealousy of someone else's one night stand." Loki added knowingly.

Veil pouted before standing up and retreating to his kitchen for food. He opened his fridge and pulled out the strawberry swirl cheesecake with dark chocolate shavings. He grabbed a fork before heading back to the couch and sitting down in a huff.

"Your going to eat that whole thing alone aren't you." Amora sighed.

Veil just ignored her in favor of his desert.


	18. Sonya and Roman

Sonya sneered at the quivering man before her as he stuttered his way through a business proposal for the company. She was bored out of her mind and stressed out due to her bosses extended absence. The organization that had contracted him earlier in the year was having him oversee construction on his new aircraft design. He was just as annoyed as she was right now at being forced to go. Roman only smiled at them with his creepy all knowing look before joining their boss on his trip. Sonya turned her attention back to the man before her before giving him an icy grin full of perfect white teeth.

"I'm sorry but unfortunately Tokar International is not currently looking into civil engineering." She states causing the man to deflate. "However, Stark Industries is always open to all forms of technological subject matter and I can very easily set up a meeting with one of 's representatives."

The main visibly perks up and thanks her before leaving the office. Sonya turns to her large computer monitor and initiated a call to her boss. It took several seconds before Veil's familiar features filled the screen.

"Sonya what can I do for you dove?" He asked breathlessly as he appeared to be walking through a maze of large metal scraps.

"When are you due back, your paperwork is piling up." Sonya snarked.

Veil groaned and glanced off camera at the sound of a loud bang. He glared before yelling at someone off screen.

"The bloody hell do you think you're doing with that! Don't just weld random metal together, follow the diagram your boos paid a fuck ton of money for you shit!"

Veil turned to look behind him and gestured for someone to come forward.

"Roman talk to Sonya I have to go deal with those idiots before I am stuck here for a year."

Roman takes the phone from his boss and smiled into the camera.

"How are things Sonny?" He grinned mischievously.

"Busy, not only is the board of directors baring their teeth at me, but Mr. I have no boundaries when it comes to my boyfriend and his job Stark is always calling to asked where Veilandih is despite the fact that I'm pretty sure he put a tracker on the man. I swear he just calls to get on my nerves Rome." Sonya complained.

Roman laughed before glancing off camera for a second.

"Yeah I probably should have warned you about their weir co-dependency thing. V does the same thing on days he knows Tony is in his office except he showed up there and sat on Tony's desk throughout his meeting with the head of some medical supply company. He spent the whole meeting brushing his hair and staring at Tony with dirty dancing eyes." Roman laughed.

"Dirty what eyes?" Sony asked confused.

"You know that song from the movie, Hungry Eyes." Roman smirked.

"Wow boss just lost a lot of my respect." Sonya sighed.


	19. Magic and Laughter

Tony groaned waking up to the sound of Jarvis giving a weather report. He shifted onto his side to see Veil had already gone. He got to his feet and shuffled to the bathroom. When he finished his business and showered he made his way downstairs.

"Hey Jarvis, where's my wayward lover?" Tony asked the A.I.

"Sir is currently in the gym." Jarvis replied promptly.

"Thanks J." Tony smiled making his way toward his home gym.

As he entered through the open door Tony stared in shock at the sight of his boyfriend of 4 years sitting in lotus position with his back facing him. Normally this wouldn't be shocking considering the younger man did yoga for 2 hours every day. However, it was not normal for said boyfriend to be floating 3 feet in the air with several hardback novels levitating in front of him. Tony couldn't believe it, Veil had superpowers.

"Holy shit you're a wizard." Tony gasped.

Veil's head snapped up and whipped around to look at Tony.

"Oh shit." Veil mumbled.

Tony slowly approached a still hovering Veil with a gleam of fascination in his eyes. He poked and prodded his partner's body before grinning.

"Can you make me float too Cookie crisp?" Tony asked cheerily.

Veil looked shocked at Tony's words before nodding his head in confirmation. He lifted a hand and pushed a current of air below his partner. Tony let out a shriek of laughter as he ascended into the air until he was eye level with his lover. Tony smirked leaning forward to deliver a soft peck to the younger's quivering lips.

"You are so freaking amazing babe." Tony smiled.

"You aren't scared of me?" Veil whispered fearfully.

"Never." Tony replied. "I love you way too much to let something like this end our relationship."

Veil gave him a soft smile Before falling forward into Tony's chest. The older man wrapped his arms around Veil in a warm embrace.

"I love you too Uthando." Veil murmured with tears welling in his eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about all of this sooner."

"No worries, I told you that this was amazing." Tony beamed. "You do magic, you are my own personal Harry Potter if Harry grew up to be the owner of a multibillion dollar business."

Veil giggled at his words.

"And had a hot ass." Tony added pinching Veil's butt.

Veilandih squeaked loosing concentration on his powers causing them to fall to the floor. Veil hissed as the full brunt of Tony's weight fell on top of him. Veil snorted before full on laughing as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders. He kissed Tony's stubble before pushing him up. Tony flew back onto one of the nearby training mats with wide eyes.

"That was awesome." Tony huffed before falling onto his back.

"Oh my gosh Tony sorry!" Veil giggled. "I still haven't quite got a handle on the strength."

"No problem chocodile." Tony laughed giving a thumbs up.


	20. Proposal and Accents

"I cannot believe you rented out the entire theater just to watch this movie." Veil laughed as they settled in to their middle row seats.

"Only the best for my boo." Tony cooed planting a big sticky kiss to his cheek.

Veil flinched back in disgust at the action.

"Eww Tony you have chocolate all over your mouth!" Veil shrieked trying to scoot away from his partners advances.

"Of course It is, what did you think you we're made of?" Tony replied licking his lips and grinning at the others attempts to clean his face.

Veil laughed leaning his head onto Tony's shoulder.

They sat in relative silence as the movie played on the large screen before them. Veil spent the time gushing over the sound of Hugo Weaving's voice as the masked terrorist V. Tony simply laughed and tried to imitate the proper british tone. Veilandih gave him a disbelieving look before commenting on how hot his accent was.

Everything was going perfectly until the screen cut to black right in the middle of V's sword play. Veil was confused as words appeared on the blank screen. In large bold letters the words "Marry me Veilandih?" appeared causing Veil to go stiff. Tony's throat clearing caused Veil to give a distracted 'hm' before turning to look at his partner. His eyes went wide at the sight of Tony on one knee with a black velvet box in his hand. He stood quickly knocking over his bucket of popcorn into the row in front of them. Tony grinned opening the box to reveal a ring. It had a black gunmetal cage band with two small mirroring black pyramids inlaid with aquamarine. The first thing that popped into Veil's mind upon seeing it was 'HOLY SHIT THAT RING REMINDS ME OF TRON! I NEED TO MARRY THIS MAN HE KNOW ME SO WELL!'.

"Marry me." Veil gasped staring at the ring dumbly.

Tony snorted at his words.

"That's kinda why i'm down here on my knee babe." He laughed.

Veil continued to gap like a fish before a huge grin stretched across his face.

"YES BABY I WILL!" Veil yelled rushing forward to kiss Tony with every bit of the joy he was feeling.

Tony happily returned his boyfriend's, no his fiance's affectionate gesture. He spent months looking for the perfect engagement ring before giving up and deciding to make it himself. Marrying Veilandih was a no brainer for Tony. When they started dating their relationship barely shifted from what it had always been. The only thing that did was the affectionate gestures and the sex that made him appreciate all the yoga Veil did daily. Veilandih was his perfect match.

"I can't wait for people to start calling you Stark." Tony grinned.

"Tokar-Stark." Veil smirked in reply. "And I think keeping our future marriage a secret from the public for as long as we can would be beneficial dear-heart."

"Anything you say babe." Tony smiled going in for another kiss.


	21. Style and Presentation (MCU start)

"If you hurry you can still make it to the awards ceremony in time." The sweet high pitched tones of his personal A.I Esihle chirped.

"There is no way Tony is even going to be there love." Veilandih replied as he tweaked some of the wires inside his newest toy's controller.

"How do you even know if you aren't there Mum?" The hieracosphinx asked cheekily from her perch on a nearby table.

Veil snorted at the A.I and her choice of title for him. He was 100% sure it was Tony's doing. Veil placed his pliers down before turning to face the metal pest.

"I will sell you off to the nearest community college little girl." He threatened with a smirk.

"No you won't Mum" Esihle sang hopping from the table to rub against Veil's leg. "Besides that's Da's threat for us."

Veil chuckled patting the A.I on the head.

"If I go will you get off my back?" He asked sweetly.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." She chirped in reply.

"Fine, call a car for me then dove." Veil sassed.

He gave her a smirk before making his way upstairs to the master bedroom. He took a quick shower and dried off with a gust of air before pulling on one of the many Prada suits he had acquired over time. The cream pinstripe fabric was cut perfectly to his frame and made his legs look longer than they really were. He clamped his hair up allowing the curls to fall at his shoulders instead of his back.

"Jarvis?" Veil called putting in his gold studs that Tony made into earpieces as he made his way toward the waiting town car.

"Yes sir." The A.I replied.

"Where is Tony at the moment?" He asked hopping into the backseat.

"Sir is currently at Caesars Palace casino. Would you like me to inform him of your arrival?" Jarvis asked.

"No thank your Jarv, I want it to be a surprise." Veil laughed.

"Of course sir." Jarvis replied mildly amused.

Veil shut the door before turning to the driver.

"Take me to Caesars Palace." Veil grinned. "And make sure we arrive with flare."

The driver nodded and gave an equally mischievous grin.

"I got you ."

The drive was pleasant, spent making jokes and reminiscing about classic 80's flicks. When they were about a block away the driver smirked. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled for a few seconds before hooking it up to the car. He turned the volume up. Veil grinned when the sound of Lollipop blasted out of the stereo. His driver tossed a cherry blow pop to Veil who smirked. He unwrapped the candy and popped it in his mouth.

The car pulled to a stop in front of the casino. A crowd had surrounded the loud approaching car. Veil opened the door and stepped out confidently and smiled at the awestruck crowd.

"It's all in the presentation." Veil grinned.


	22. Words and Silk

"I think tonight was a success." Tony stated as he relaxed into the leather seats of his car.

"Rhodey surely would have killed you for your antics if you had been literally anybody else." Veil laughed as Happy drove them home from Caesar's Palace. "You literally wasted 3 million dollars on one table Love."

"Sour patch loves me too much to hate my charms coco puff." Tony replies.

"There is a thin line between the two and you are walking it Dear-heart." Veil grins.

Tony laughed before turning up the radio to blast the opening chords of Moonage Daydream. Veilandih beamed at his husband before singing along as he trailed his fingers over Tony's Armani clad thigh.

"Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe, put your ray gun to my head, press your space face close to mine, love." Veil cooed in the older man's ear with a sinful grin.

Tony smirked before trailing kisses up the other's neck as Veil's hand slid higher and higher up his leg. Happy luckily made it back to the mansion in record time and Tony had Veil stripped down in even less. His husband's slender hands clutched onto the fabric of his suit jacket and yanked it from his body in a surprising show of force. His shirt, pants, and boxer briefs were quick to follow.

"Swear you will come home to me." Veilandih purred as he pinned his partner to their soft cream silk sheets.

Tony chuckled up at the golden eyed male before pulling him down into a slow deep kiss.

"I always do chocodile, now give me some sugar." He grinned quickly dragging the other down into the bed in a fit of laughter and manly squeals.

They wrestled playfully until Tony accidentally tips off of the bed taking the top sheet and Veil with him drawing a surprised yelp from the younger male. Their nude bodies lay tangled in the expensive fabric as they laughed boisterously.

"Sirs do you require any assistance?" J.A.R.V.I.S asked with a tone of light exasperation.

"We're cool J." Tony laughed tugging lightly at Veilandih's thick mass of wavy curls.

"You did that on purpose you sore loser." Veil sighed in his unique British and Xhosa tinted accent.

"Prove it babe." Tony grinned.

Veil smirked before making a sweeping gesture with his hand lifting the two from the floor and back onto the bed in a rush of hot air. Tony flailed in surprise at the sudden movements before glaring playfully at his partner.

"Who's the one doing stuff on purpose now?" Tony huffed.

Veil got on his hands and knees crawling out of the tangled sheets and into Tony's lap with a seductive smirk on his full lips. His unnatural golden eyes glowed enticingly in the dark moonlit room. He leaned forward placing his mouth directly beside the scruffy cheek of his bedmate.

"Prove it Love." Veilandih whispered in his ear.

Tony was wrecked and it was all this gorgeous chocolate skinned being's fault.


	23. Tears and Linoleum

Roman rushed through the halls of T.I.L.A with a look of apprehension on his face. No one had been able to get a hold of Veilandih for a little over a week now and he had successfully dodged Roman and Sonya since Tony's disappearance. Sonya was going out of her mind dealing with the public and Roman was on edge as he searched for his wayward boss. The research labs in LA were his last hope.

As Roman punched in the door code he could here muffled voices. Hope fluttered in his chest as he pushed his way into the dimly lit Lab. Taking up the entirety of the far wall was a shaky projection of a cell phone video. In it was a smiling Tony with his arm wrapped around Veil. The two were outside of the Stark Industries private jet saying their goodbyes to each other.

" _I'm leaving now, off on a long journey to the desert without my gorgeous robo-baby mama." Tony says before pressing a loud and sloppy kiss to his husband's cheek. "So at my urging Veil has agreed to this lovely little video, the first of many, to document our time apart."_

 _Veil laughs before tilting the camera in his direction._

" _I just want my Anthony to have something to look at while he is away." Veil smirks. "After all, those strippers you are calling flight attendants do not have shit on me."_

 _Tony laughed twirling the two around causing the camera to follow. Veil pecked Tony on the lips quickly before angling his head back._

" _You hear that girls, no stripping for Tony!" He yelled to the flight crew of the plane._

 _Giggling could be heard from within and Rhodey could be seen in the background with his head in his hands. Veilandih smirked at Tony before it slowly morphed into a soft smile._

" _I'll miss you umyeni." He said softly._

" _I'll miss you too marito." Tony smiled._

 _They slowly leaned in for a soft yet passionate kiss that quickly turned into a slow makeout._

" _I am going to have my wicked way with you when you come home ." Veil whispered breathlessly before pulling Tony back in._

 _It went on for a few minutes until clapping and Rhodey's insistent pulling interrupted the tender moment._

" _Come on Tones, we are late as it is." He groaned. "I'll get him back safely Veil."_

" _I'll hold you to that." Veil laughed blowing a kiss to Tony._

 _Tony caught it with a dramatic flair before being shoved into the plane. Veil turned back to the camera with a sharp grin._

Roman glanced down from the loving scene to see his boss sleeping on the cold linoleum floor. Tear tracks were running down his cheeks as he huddled in a ball wrapped around the metal body of Esihle. Roman sighed in relief before a deep frown crossed his face. Veil was in absolutely no shape to work now and would probably remain so until Tony was found.


	24. Anguish and Months

Veil stares into the camera with a sorrowful smile.

"Hi baby. A few weeks have passed since you disappeared. I miss you terribly everyday. The bots miss you too. Dumb-E, U and Butterfingers have drawn you so many pictures. We miss you here, please come home soon."

He waves to the camera before the screen goes black.

A frustrated Veil sits before the camera with his knee bouncing nervously.

"A month. You have been gone a month. I haven't left our home. I promised to record everything you missed, but how can I do anything without you. Roman and Sonya are basically running everything for me. I can hardly focus lately. I love you and I need you to come home. Please."

Veil hopped off the couched and left the screen. It soon turned black.

Veil was laying in bed with red eyes and a distant gaze.

"It has been 2 months, 3 weeks, and 1 day since you were taken from me. I have tried to come find you, but I have been prevented from doing so and I now find myself under constant watch." Veil shifted the camera until he was holding it above his head. "I have been deemed a danger to myself. Jarvis, even without a body, still manages to hover and treat me like an emotionally stunted child. He's not far from the truth. Please be ok Uthando."

Veil dozes off and soon falls asleep. A slim pale hand with long violet painted nails is seen moving into frame pulling a blanket over Veilandih before the screen goes dark.

A crying Veil sat on what appeared to be the garage floor. His head leaned against one of Tony's junkers.

"4 months. 4 months. 4 MONTHS! It's not fucking fair. The world gets to move on, oblivious to whatever harm is coming to you; I haven't forgotten you love." Veil gives a trembling smile before staring off into the distance. "I think I may have found a way to find you. I tracked some suspicious activity from SI last week to an area in southern Afghanistan. I sent the coordinates to Rhodey since I'm still under heavy watch. I hope he finds you. I hope that my efforts are fruitful. I don't think I could go on in America without you my love. Please be safe."

Veil shudders as more tears start welling up. A choked sob leaves him as the worried beeps of the A.I.s sounded from off camera.

Roman sighed as he watched the latest of his bosses video recordings. He really hoped that Colonel Rhodes found Tony soon. He knew his boss like the back of his hand and Roman had no doubt that if the Stark genius was never found, or worse dead, V would flee to Wakanda without a single glance back. Veil had not noticed it, but Roman and Sonya knew that Tony was the most important thing in Veilandih's life and he would wither away without him.


	25. Reunions and Cheeseburgers

Three words was all it took to bring him to his knees in relief and overwhelming joy. He could barely hear Rhodey's relieved happiness over his loud sobbing.

"You really found my Tony?" He asked shakily.

"Yes, all thanks to your coordinates." Rhodey replied.

Veil rushed into the fastest sports car he owned and drove like a bat out of hell to the Stark airstrip. He ignored every California traffic law in order to get to the runway in less than 15 minutes. He skidded to a screeching halt beside Happy and Pepper's still forms. He vaulted out of his car just as the plane opened up. The sight of Tony hobbling out on Rhodey's arm made a choked sob fall from his lips. Tony gave his husband a sheepish grin before holding out his hand to him. Veil rushes into Tony's chest crying harder and clutching onto him as if he would disappear. Tony kissed the top of his head before glancing up to Pepper.

"Your eyes are red." Tony told Pepper as he stroked his husbands messy curls. "A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

"Tears of joy. I hate job hunting." Pepper replied with a watery smile.

"Yeah, vacation's over." Tony smiled.

Veil suddenly dragged Tony's head down into a long deep kiss.

"Don't you ever. Fucking. Leave. My sight again Anthony. I will chain you to our bed if I have to." Veil whispered nuzzling into his husband's side.

"Will do Veilandih." Tony smiled softly hugging the smaller man tighter.

They climbed into the back of the car Happy had waiting. Veil slowly drifted off as they pulled off of SI. The skin around his eyes was bright red and raw. Tony stared at the younger male for awhile longer before being snapped out of his relief filled thoughts by the voice of Happy. He took in Veil's messy state of dress and smiled knowingly in adoration.

"Where to, sir?" Happy asked.

Just as Tony opened his mouth to reply Pepper cut him off.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." She answered.

"No." Tony says

"No? Tony, you have to. At least do it for Veil." Pepper sighed glancing at the passed out male draped across his chest.

"Go to the hospital. No is a complete answer." Tony said shutting her down.

"The doctor has to look at you." Pepper sighed in exasperation.

"I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are three things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger, cuddle with my chocodile, and the other…" Tony trailed off.

"That's enough of that." Pepper cut him off.

"...is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now." Tony finishes.

"Call for a press conference?" She questions.

"Yeah." Tony answered.

"What on earth for?" She asked in disbelief.

Tony grimaced before turning to face the back of Happy's head.

"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first." Tony said to his driver avoiding the question.


	26. Conferences and Changes

"And that is why, effective immediately; I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be." Tony stated to the press gathered before him.

Veil was shocked by his husband's words, but he was proud nonetheless. He didn't know what had occurred in Afghanistan, a part of him did not want to know, but it obviously affected his husband to the point of changing everything about his company. Tony's face on the television screen before him looked tired. He really wanted to take him home and put him in bed for a very long time.

A hand on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts. Veil looked up to see the relieved face of Roman.

"I've been calling your name for over a minute boss." He said. "Pepper called me about Tony's return and I figured that you rushed here without getting dressed."

Veilandih glanced down at his white cotton tee and fleece harry potter pajama pants. Roman gave him a soft smile and handed over a garment bag and a black scrunchie. Veil took the bag and made his way into the nearby bathroom. A few minutes later he returned in a crisp black suit and a deep red undershirt. The hi-top converse he pulled on before leaving the house were still on his feet. Roman gestured for Veil to turn around and proceeded to gather his wild curls into a high ponytail. The PA patted his bosses shoulder before turning to the screen to watch the media chaos caused by Tony.

"Sonny and I had planned to contact your Grandmother and ship you back to Wakanda if your depression got any worse." He said calmly.

Veil looked at him with slightly wide eyes. He must have been bad if they contemplated sending him home.

"I'm sorry for worrying you two, i must have been a bloody nightmare to deal with." Veil smiled sadly.

"You were grieving it was understandable boss." Roman said patting him on the shoulder.

Veil gave his PA a hug.

"I don't deserve you guys."

"Of course you do." Roman grinned. "We know that you need all the friends you can get."

Veilandih felt tears gathering in his eyes once more as he gripped Roman's arm.

"Besides we are your family, maybe not by birth, but definitely by heart."

Veil grinned at Roman hugging him as tight as he could. At that moment Tony walked in with a frustrated Obadiah trailing him. The bald man took one look at the two and his frown deepened. Veilandih frowned at his brooding elder. Stane never sat well in his mind. Tony, however, brightened considerably at the sight of his cleaned up husband.

"Hey Roman candle, keeping my favorite chocolate cereal happy?"

Veil snorted before leaving his PAs arms. He tugged his husband into a soft slow kiss.

"You are ridiculous Love."

"But you love me anyway."

"That I do."


	27. Discharge and Disbelief

"Pepper. How big are your hands?" Tony's voice called though the speaker.

Veil and Pepper looked at one another in confusion.

"What?" She asked in confusion.

"How big are your hands?" He repeated.

"I don't understand why..." She answered back as Veil stood already heading down to the workshop.

"Get down here. I need you. Oh! And don't say anything to Veilandih." He answered.

"Too late for that." Pepper whispered to herself following the curly haired man downstairs.

"BLOODY BUGERING HELL TONY!"

"See this is why I asked Pepper not to tell you."

"SHE DIDN'T YOU ARSE!" Veil fumed slapping his husbands leg. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU NEED TINY HANDS FOR AND WHAT IS THAT THING IN YOUR CHEST DOING?!"

"Hey." Pepper announced awkwardly as she stepped into the couples line of sight.

"Let's see them. Show me your hands." Tony said to her ignoring the questions of his husband. "Let's see them."

Tony looked over Pepper's hands and fingers and seemed to nod in approval.

"Oh, wow. They are small. Very petite indeed. I just need your help for a sec."

"Oh, my God, is that the thing that's keeping you alive?" Peper voiced at the same moment Veil gasped.

"IS THAT A MAGNET IN YOUR CHEST?!"

"It was. It is now an antique." Tony replied. This is what will be keeping me alive

for the foreseeable future."

Veil fumed before stomping over to Tony's desk to try and get an understanding of what his husband had done while being held captive. The sound of the heart monitor going off erattically quickly drew Veil away from his snooping. Pepper was holding a ooze covered wire with a large magnet on the end in the air above Tony's chest. His eyes went wide in shock. He rushed over quickly taking the wire from pepper's trembling hands as she freaked out.

"Oh God! What do I do?! What's wrong?!"

"He's going into cardiac arrest!" Veil answered fearfully.

"Cause you yanked it out like a trout..." Tony sassed.

"What? You said it was safe!"

"Stop being a shit Anthony!"

"Fine, fine, but we gotta hurry. Take this. Take this." Tony said handing Pepper the new reactor. "You gotta switch it out really quick."

"Okay. Okay." Pepper said trying to keep calm. "Tony? It's going to be okay."

"What?" Both Tony and Veil asked in confusion.

"Is it?" She asked needing reassurance.

"It's gonna be okay." Tony assured squeezing Veil's hand as he spoke knowing he was just as freaked out as pepper.

"You're gonna attach that to the base plate. Make sure you..." Tony didn't get to finish as Pepper attached the arc reactor and locked it in place.

Veil stared at the glowing blue object. It was pure genius, but the implications of Tony needing it to live left Veil fearful.

"Are you okay?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah, I feel great. You okay?" Tony replied.

"Don't ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again." She answered.


	28. Suits and Protection

"Jarvis, you up?" Tony asked making his way into his workshop.

"For you, sir, always."

"I'd like to open a new project file,

index as Mark Two."

"Shall I store this on the Stark Industries Central Database?"

"Actually, I don't know who to trust right now." Tony sighed pulling up the schematics of the mark I. "Till further notice, why don't we just keep everything on my private server?"

Working on a secret project, are we, sir? Should I inform sir Veilandih of your actions?"

"I don't want this winding up in the wrong hands. Maybe send Coco puff an encrypted puzzle to figure out to break the news."

Tony stared at the broken down bare bones of his suit with contemplating eyes.

"Maybe in my hands, it can actually do some good." He said to himself.

"You have an incoming call from Sir Veilandih." Jarvis states as a holographic image of Veil appeared over Tony's workbench. The image showed the couple in the middile of a laugh filled kiss on their wedding day.

"Answer it."

The image shifted to reveal the tiered smile of his husband. Veil's curls were loose and hung around his head in a chocolate halo. His glasses were off and contacts out so the molten gold Irises were on full view for Tony to marvel.

"Hey Chocodile." Tony cooed at the drowsy man. "You look tuckered out."

"I am." Veil replied closing his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again at half mast. "I met up with a girlfriend of mine and she spent 3 hours fussing at me for not calling her while you went missing. She called me stupid and then dragged me to training."

"What kind of training?" Tony asked curiously.

He was unaware that Veil had any personal friends beyond Roman and Sonya.

"Uhm." Veil sighed rubbing his face in exhaustion. "An acro/parkour type thing."

"oh, well get some sleep babe you'll be back here before you know it." Tony gave a reassuring smile.

"Ok." Veil smiled leaning onto his pillow. "Goodnight love."

"Sleep well Cara Mio."

As soon as the call ended Tony faced the suit hologram yet again. This was for protection. He had been through hell in Afghanistan and one of the few things that kept him sane was the thought of coming home to his husband and baby bots. He would never say it out loud, but the way Veilandih looked upon his return was almost as bad as him. Veil put himself through hell because he was unable to find Tony. It made the elder man wonder just how dependent they were on one another. They have been together, as friends, lovers, and partners, for so long that the idea of being apart for long causes physical pain. Tony swore he would never let the 10 rings situation happen ever again. From now on he would do everything in his power to keep his loved ones safe. It will all start with this suit.


	29. Paint and Carpet

Veil took one last look in the mirror before blowing his reflection a kiss. He looked good. Hopefully his looks would be enough to seduce his husband out of the house for the night. Tony had been cooped up who knows how long in his workshop and it was time he made an appearance to the world. It needed to know that he was okay and not still suffering from Afghanistan.

As Veil descended the stairs to the lab he caught on to the voices of Tony and Jarvis along with the news report from the gala he was supposed to be attending.

"Hey, I like it. Fabricate it. Paint it." Tony said to Jarvis as Veilandih entered the workshop.

"Commencing automated assembly." Jarvis informed. "Estimated completion time is five hours."

Veil smirked at his husband before moving into his line of sight. Tony turned away from the television only for his mouth to go dry at the sight of the smaller male decked out in a very form fitting gold tux with black piping along the hems, pockets, and lapels. His jacket was left open to show the crisp black dress shirt beneath. His hair was pulled into a thick braid and wrapped into side bun with a glittering gold ribbon woven in. The barest hint of kohl liner could be seen flaring out in sharp wings. His baby was gorgeous and the teasing grin on his face made the genius fall even harder for him.

"You're actually joining me tonight?" Veil asked in amusement.

"Well when you look like that who else is going to shoo off your suitors?" Tony replied.

Veilandih laughed as he started to pull Tony from his workbench and to stairs.

"See you later Sweethearts." Veil cooed at the bots.

"Don't wait up for me, honey." Tony called out to Jarvis.

Arriving on the red carpet was chaos as usual all flashing lights and bumping shoulders with socialites. Tony thrived in this. Veil had just gotten use to it. The couple hid their rings before stepping out of one of Tony's sports cars with wide grins. They didn't want to break the media with their marriage just yet.

"Hey, Tony, remember me?" A hopeful woman asked as Tony approached.

"Sure don't." He answered without sparing her a glance.

"I should hope not." Veil grinned into the elder's ear before leaving his side to chat with a reporter who had called out to him.

Veil gladly answered a few questions from reporters before making his way up the carpeted stairs to Tony's side.

"What's the world coming to when a guy's got to crash his own party?" Tony beamed at Obadiah.

The older man looked a bit shocked at his prescence before covering it up with a smile.

"Look at you. Hey, what a surprise." Obi looked over Tony's shoulder and nodded to the younger. "Did Veilandih finally drag you out to this thing?"

Tony grinned back at his husband and winked.

"Something like that."


	30. Gala and Greetings

"If you ever disappear on me again I will hunt you down and not give you the benefit of the doubt. I don't care if whatever deity that gave you your little magic called you to the afterlife, I will drag you back to this plane of existence and chew you out for it. You had Loki and I worried sick about you. He actually lost a hair darling. Do you understand how much stress he had to go through to lose a single hair? He looked absolutely awful, but of course I remained Immaculate but that's beside the point." Amora took a calming breath before giving him a tiered smile. "We were worried, so please don't pull another disappearing act on us again."

"Of course Amora anything you say." He placated her. "Where is Loki" This seems like it's right up his alley?"

"Oh, there are a lot of political issues going on in Asgard at the moment and since Thor can't understand most other words that come out of the council's mouth, Loki is usually there to guide him. That's one of the reasons why I honestly believe he'd make a good King, but you have to be more than wit and mind to rule. Don't ever tell him I said that though it may break his cold little heart that his best friend would think such of him."

The pair shifted and glanced around the room. Veil spotted Tony speaking with Pepper and waved him over. He approached with a casual swagger and charming grin.

"Tony love this is Amora, one of my best friends. Veil introduced. "She's the one I told you about when I was on my trip.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Amora. I know absolutely nothing about you, but if you make coco puff happy then I'm happy." Tony laughed placing a kiss to Amora's extended hand.

"And I've heard an absolute earful about you Anthony. In fact I'm pretty sure I know enough to write a book on you." Amora smirked. "After all, Veil talked so much about you back in college that it was damn near impossible not to learn anything about you."

"Amora stop you're embarrassing me." Veil hissed.

"That's where all the fun is darling." Amora replied patting his cheek.

Just then a woman walks up and taps Tony on the shoulder. Veil and Amora look at her with curiosity. She speaks with him softly before making her way to the bar.

"A billionaires' work is never done." Tony tells them. "I'll speak to you two later."

Tony gives them a dramatic bow before moving to the bar.

"Not worried she's trying to steal your husband?" Amora asked after a short while.

"Not at all, it's my bed he comes home to at night." Veil smirks. "I feel nothing from women like her encroaching on my territory."

"You sound like a possessive cat." Amora snorts.

"I am one." Veil replies frowning at the distressed look on Tony's face.


	31. Gulmira and Trust

Veil chewed his lip in anxiety. Tony wouldn't tell him what happened with the reporter or the tense conversation with Obi. He didn't sleep that night and retreated to his workshop. It wasn't until Jarvis informed him of Tony's departure to Gulmira that he learned what his husband had been doing in his since his return from Afghanistan. He over road Tony's protocols and had Jarvis pull up the armor's inner camera.

"Do not inform him that I'm watching Lovlie." Veil told the AI.

"Of course sir." Jarvis replied knowingly.

Veil felt his eyes tear up as Tony fought off not only terrorists, but also the now present air force. His heart felt like it was nearly ripped from his chest with every near miss that occurred. When he saved the jet Veil laughed in relief and worry. His husband was an idiot, but he was also a hero. Veil listened as Rhodey and Tony exchanged quips. Rhodey sounded stressed out and Veil could just imagine the look on the older man's face now.

"Tony, you still there?" Rhodey asked.

"Hey, thanks." Tony told the man sincerely.

"Oh, my God, you crazy son of a bitch." Rhodey hissed. "You owe me a plane. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, well, technically, he hit me." Tony sassed back. "Now are you going to come by and see what I'm working on?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, the less I know, the better." Rhodey denied before breathing out a sigh of frustration. "Now, what am I supposed to tell the press?"

"Training exercise. Isn't that the usual BS?" Tony said as if it were a no brainer.

"It's not that simple." Rhodey sighed.

"Jarvis open a voice channel into the suit." Veil asked.

"Channel open sir."

Veil took a deep breath before speaking as calmly as he could.

"Anthony Edward Stark, when you get home I am going to kick your ass and kiss your stupid, brave, inconsiderate, kind hearted, in the fucking dog house, gorgeous face."

"Coco puff?" Tony startles before whispering. "Oh,shit."

"I can't help you with that one man." Rhodey said with slight pity.

"Thank you for saving him Rhodey." Veil told the elder.

"No problem V. Maybe you can knock some sense into his big head." Rhodey laughed. "I gotta go, make sure you get back here safe Tones."

"Wouldn't dream of doing anything else Platypus." Tony replied.

When Rhodey's line went silent Veil sighed watching the armor fly through the sky. It remained quiet for a while before Tony finally spoke.

"I'm sorry I went off and did all that without saying anything."

"If you were so sorry you would have thought of me before zipping of to who bloody knows where. I wouldn't have stopped you if I knew you were absolutely protected by whatever it is you are flying around in. Do you not trust me anymore?"

"I do and I plan to show you everything as soon as I get home."

"Promise?"

"I promise."


	32. Betrayal and Action

"I swear to Bast that if that man calls me one more time about the freaking Helicarrier I will obliterate him. I already designed the damn thing. I walked his Builders through it every step of the way and yet he still wants me to work with him. I'm not one of his little agents! Nowhere in my contract is it said that I had to do more than what I had signed on for." Veilandih growled into the phone as he walked to the mansion's front door. "If he thinks for one second I'm not going to charge him a consultation fee for all of this he has another thing coming. Make sure we charge him for every single one of his little crap business calls he made to me Sonya. And make sure you charge for that Hill woman's calls as well."

Veil made his way inside setting his bag on an ottoman in the foyer. He popped out his contacts with a grimace and deposited them in his case. He made his way to the kitchen as Sonya continued to make arrangements to take more of the spy's money.

"Anyway, I made it home alright. I better make sure Tony isn't hold up in his lab again. I was hoping we could have dinner tonight, maybe some takeout." He said looking through the fridge. "Yeah, I'll tell him you said hello and to keep out of the office again, but you know for a fact that won't stop him."

Veil shut the fridge with a laugh.

"Of course, I'll see you later Sonya stay stress-free."

He ended the call before glancing around the main floor of the home.

"Tony? Love are you here?" He called out in confusion. "Jarvis where's my husband?"

"Sir is currently recovering in the workshop from having his Arc Reactor removed. I tried to contact you but your cell phone line was tied up for the past hour." The AI replied with a mixture of relief and fear.

Veilandih's eyes widened before he rushed toward the stairs.

"Shit, Tony please be ok."

Veil rushed into the workshop to find Tony breathing heavily as he leaned against one of the workbenches. He was patting Dumm-E on the arm as he struggled to control his breathing. Veil ran to him with a startled cry."

"Tony, what happened to you?!"

"Stane." Tony grunted in slight pain as Veil crushed him into a tight hug.

"Sorry dear-heart." Veil apologized releasing his husband with teary eyes.

"He was behind my abduction."

"WHAT!?" Veil screeched in fury causing his eyes to glow as bright as molten gold.

An eerie calm washed over the man as the air around him crackled with his angry magic.

"I will end him."

"No." Tony cut him off. "Obadiah is mine to handle."

Veil growled but refrained from speaking out as he gazed into his husband's determined eyes.

"He wants my armor suit, so I might as well shove its fist into his face."


	33. Heroes and Villains

In any other situation what was happening before Veil would be amazing. Unfortunately, the robot fight he was seeing was very real and his husband was inside one of them. He respected Tony's wishes by not interfering but he regretted it with every second that passed. Pepper's discovery on Stane proved that the older man was behind Tony's kidnapping and that he was selling weapons under the table. With each piece of evidence the man drove a nail deeper into his coffin. Veil was out for blood that he couldn't spill. Stane was Tony's to deal with. However, he wasn't doing a good job at the moment.

"Jarvis he's being crushed are you sure there's nothing we can do?"

"I'm sure there's a way sir can improvise and get away." The AI replied with a slightly nervous tone.

"You're right. He always has something up his sleeve."

Veil watched as flares sprouted out of the suit momentarily blinding Stane. Tony barely managed to get himself away. Veil's anxiety was shooting through the roof. He needed to get closer, but a hand clutching his shoulder held him in place.

"You cannot interfere. It's a matter of pride and respect." Loki said watching beside him.

"But he could die." Veil argued.

"Do you have so little faith in your lover? He must overcome this hurdle on his own. Feel with your magic and your soul what is happening around you don't just use your eyes."

Veil took a deep breath and concentrated. He picked up on the emotions and the sparks of power from the energy around them. He could taste his husband's determination. Tony was tired, but he was giving it all he had.

"He can do this." Veil breathed nodding to himself. "I'll drag him back from the afterlife if he doesn't."

"Not full on faith but close." Loki shrugged still gripping Veilandih's arm.

Veil flinched as his husband was thrown like a rag doll. They seemed to exchange some words before Stane opened fire on Tony. Veil gasped as the glass around his husband fell and his body followed. He clutched onto the frame of the glass roof dome as Stane continued to shoot. All of a sudden Tony shouted for pepper.

"Why is he calling for pepper? What is he planning?" Veil questioned.

Not a few moments after he spoke a pillar of light and electricity shot up from the reactor. A resulting blast occurred when Stane fell into the ruptured reactor.

Veil managed to shake off Loki's grip before he jumped into the air and used his power to glide down to Stark industries roof. He rushed up to the still form of his husband with tears in his eyes.

"Tony love you have to wake up. Please baby open your eyes." He said shakily while caressing Tony's cheek. "Jarvis is the arc reactor damaged?"

"Power is conserving itself. We must get Sir to a hospital if he is to survive."

"There is no if. He will."


	34. Reveal and Revamp

The press conference was well underway and Veil could already tell Tony wasn't going to stay on script. He started out good, but then she opened her mouth. Tony told him her name was Christine Everhart, but Veilandih chose to be petty and ignore that.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you..." She started before Toney cut her off.

"I know that it's confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero."

"I never said you were a superhero." She cut him off.

"Didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and uh fantastic." Tony replied a little dejected.

Veilandih chuckled behind his hand as he watched. Coulson side eyed the male in slight curiosity.

"I'm just not the hero type, clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public…"

Rhodey looked exasperated as he leaned over cutting off Tony's word vomit. Veil just knew he was pleading with Tony to stick to the cards.

"The truth is…" Tony started as he eyed the small paper in front of him before looking up at the audience. "...I am Iron Man."

The reporters went wild. Their cameras flashing as Tony watched. The woman remained seated with a frown. Rhodey put his hands up in surrender before walking off the stage. Veilandih laughed at the scene and moved to Rhodey, catching his arm as he entered from the conference room.

"Why do I even bother if he is just going to do what he wants?" He asked as Veil pats his back in sympathy.

"Simple Honey. Just go with the flow and hope that it carries you to shore." Veil grinned up at him.

Rhodey snorted at the advice.

"Is that how you got dragged into being his friend?"

"Something like that." Veil winked turning to face the circus occurring in the room. "Why don't you got treat yourself to a bit of Ibuprofen. You look like you need it."

Rhodey nods in agreement as he starts to make his way toward.

"I do, I really, really do."

Veilandih watched as his husband toyed with the reporters before a throat cleared at his side. He glanced over at Coulson's expecting stare before groaning.

"What does Polyphemus want now?"

Coulson raised an unimpressed brow at the curly haired male before handing over a sealed file to the annoyed man.

"A new project the director wants you to think about."

Veil groaned. He just couldn't catch a break from shield. He opened the file and skimmed through the papers to get the gist of what Fury wanted to add to his toy box.

"You can of course reject the contract. I'm sure we could find someone much more qualified to design it."

Veil narrowed his eyes in challenge. Those were fighting words.


	35. Showmanship and Fireworks

Sparks and lights burst in the sky filling it with color. The stag was just as bright as the Ironettes danced in front of several sparkling fountains of fireworks. Veilandih grinned from his spot backstage as he watched his husband land on stage and the suit being peeled off to reveal the suit Tony wore beneath it. Veil laughed clapping along with the crowd as AC/DC blared through the speakers. When the song and dance ended the Ironettes left the stage. A few gushed when they noticed his presence there and asked for pictures. Veil agreed and took a few photos with the group and a few girls one on one.

"I can't believe I actually go to meet you in person!" One girl gushed. "My dad got me one of those My First Puppy robots when I was 13 and I absolutely adored it, but my brother broke it a few years later."

"I'm sorry to hear that my darling." Veil said with a sympathetic smile; He could tell the incident hurt her. "Tell you what, If you send me your address I'll replace it for you with either a newer model or one similar to what you had."

"You'd really do that." She beamed.

"Of course." He replied. "It was my goal to make people happy with the things I create and if everyone cherished the toys I design the way you do they I would gladly replace what ends up broken."

"Thank you so much." She cried pulling him into a tight hug.

Veil just laughed patting her back before giving her Roman's card.

"Send your address to this email and it will all be taken care of."

"Thanks again I really appreciate it." The dancer beamed rushing off to follow the other Ironettes.

Veilandih sighed in satisfaction at his good deed. It always left him warm inside to see his dreams coming to fruition. When he turned back to the stage he saw that Tony had already come off stage and gestured for him to follow Happy and he out of the building. When they made through the crowd of Tony's waiting fans they stepped outside to the sight of a woman leaning against Tony's car and Roman pulling up in Veilandih's own gold Honda S2000. Veil greeted his friend and P.A. as Tony spoke to the woman and hopped in the driver's seat of the car. Veil glanced over seeing the woman holding out a letter to his husband. He frowned wondering what was going on. She held out a badge and Veil wanted to groan in irritation.

"Something wrong?" Rome asked as he allowed Veilandih into the driver's seat.

"Not sure, but I'm not going to like it." Veil replied pulling up beside Tony and waited.

"How far away is D.C.?" Tony asked Happy.

"D.C.? 250 miles."

Tony looked over to his husband with a challenging gleam in his eyes.

"Race ya." He said taking if with Veil quick to follow him unquestioningly.


	36. Exs and Hearts

"Evie?"

Oh, how that voice could drag him into hell without resistance.

 _A tiered moan sounded from the warm body draped over his chest. Their bare bodies intertwined with one another. He could feel his bed partner's soft curls drag across his skin as they lifted their head. Slender fingers moved to prop up the serene face of his boyfriend. Everett knew that if this man ever asked him for the world he would tear down every government to give it to him._

 _"What are you thinking about love?" He smiled up at Everett._

 _"Nothing really." Everett sighed gently caressing the other's back. "Just wondering what I would do without you."_

 _"Be the best pilot ever?" He grinned._

 _"Yes, but my home life would be less appealing." Everett laughed._

 _"Well, I'm glad I bring color to your drab life." He laughed lifting up to give Everett a sweet kiss._

"-rett are you okay?"

Ross snapped out of his thoughts to lock eyes with golden honey orbs. He would never forget those eyes.

"I'm fine." He said giving the other male a calm smile. "How are you Veilandih?"

Veil frowned a bit, not believing his words, but let it slide.

"I'm great, just annoyed to be here." He laughed before pulling the other into a tight hug. "I've missed you, Evie."

Ross returned the hug by instinct. A nostalgic smile appeared on his face.

"I've missed you too Landi."

They pulled apart and Veil continued to grin.

"How's the new position treating you?"

"As well as a deputy task force commander can be treated." Everett smiled sheepishly. "The secretary of state could be easier to deal with though."

Veil snorted at that.

"Ross was and always will be an egotistical arsehole. I can't believe he has a position that high in government."

Everett smiled at the smaller man.

"What brings you here? I knew you and Tony were friends, but I didn't think you would come all the way to D.C. for him."

Veilandih shifted on his feet glancing down the hall to make sure they had some privacy before stepping closer.

"I've known you for a long time so I know you can keep a secret." He started and then smiled up at his ex-lover. "I also trust you with my life so I have no problem telling you Evie."

"What?" Everette asked confused and a little apprehensive.

"Tony and I have been married nearly two years." Veil whispered. "We've been together since 2001."

Everette felt an overwhelming surge of jealousy take over him. Veilandih was the one that got away. They broke up before Veil left for Wakanda in '94 and Everette always regretted it. Hearing that he was now married was painful.

"Congratulations." Everette forced out making Veil smile.

"Hey, Coco Puff it's time." Tony called down the hall giving the two a curious once-over before entering the courtroom.

Veil smiled and shrugged.

"Let's get this over with."

Everett watched Veilandih leave his side with a heartbroken face.


	37. Home and Hurt

Veil waved to Pepper a she made her way to her car. A glowing smile was on her face. No doubt from whatever news Tony had told her. Tony stood at the landing of the stairs having walked Pepper up. Veil stared at him with an intense gaze.

"What's going on with you Tony love?" Veilandih sighed. "Lately you've been distant. Have I done something wrong?"

"Of course you haven't. There's nothing wrong babe."

"Well, I really can't tell from how much you've been acting past couple of months. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

"It's nothing really you can drop it."

"If you're going to get so defensive about it I'll let it go from now but this will be brought up again." Veil said softly standing from his seat on the couch.

"I don't have to share absolutely everything okay. Please let's not end tonight with an argument." Tony said in exasperation.

Veil narrowed his eyes in anger and did his best to keep his voice steady.

"What argument? All I asked was a question and you're just assuming that the results would be an argument. Keep whatever secrets you want it's fine. I'm sorry for caring so much about you. I was just trying to do my job as a good husband. After all, we married each other because we love one another didn't we?" Veil stated walking away from Tony's sad gaze.

Tony watched Veil walk up the staircase and head toward their bedroom. Tony collapsed onto the couch Veil vacated with a quiet groan. He glanced down at his hands before placing his head in them. Maybe he should have just told Veil about his blood toxicity. Maybe the other would have been able to help. Something held him back from doing so and that was guilt, and possibly leaving his lover behind to pick up the pieces he would leave, including their secret marriage. Maybe they should announce it to the world already. The Fallout would probably be a lot easier if it was divided between the two. Nothing like getting Palladium poisoning to make a man's mind work in overdrive.

The sound of tiny metal paws on the floor made him look up to see Esihle making her way over. She paused before him momentarily glancing up at the stairs where Veil went.

"Mum is worried." The AI said sadly. "He found one of the burned-out cores and pieced everything together."

"I figured as much." Tony groaned leaning back into the couch. "Why do I always seem to mess things up with him baby girl?"

Esihle tilted her head before hopping up into Tony's lap. She let out a series of mechanical purrs as she snuggled up to her creator. Tony settled a hand on her head stroking the smooth metal of her exoskeleton.

"You both could learn some things about trust." She chirped. "Right, brother?"

"I must agree with Eshile on this." Jarvis chimed in.

"Traitors, the lot of you."


	38. Childhood and Responsibilities

"Not that I have anything against it, but what's this kid doing in the office?" Veil asked glancing over at the fair skinned child with long blonde hair in his CEO's office.

"That's Valentine." Sonya sighed with stress oozing from her voice. "My sister Rosa got into a bad car accident a week ago and…..she didn't make it."

Sonya sniffed a little holding her tears at bay as she explained the situation.

"We didn't have a funeral since I'm the only family she had. She didn't even tell me she had a kid. He just showed up with a social worker. V I can barely handle your company and my own kid. What am I going to do? I don't want to leave him he's family."

Veil frowned glancing at the boy thoughtfully.

"If you really need the help he's more than welcome to stay with me. Tony and I have plenty of room and things have been going so smoothly lately, so I have a bit more time on my hands."

Sonya looked at Veil with defeated eyes before sighing.

"It's not the worst idea, we just have to see how he reacts to you. I have guardianship over him so if he says he's willing to stay with you for a while I wouldn't mind. You and Roman are the only people I trust, better you than Roman and his menagerie."

"It's not that bad." Veil defended.

"He has a fucking pig as a pet. Not a tiny one but one of those huge ones that look like 40 hams stuck together."

"Wiggles won't appreciate that." Veil snickered.

"Whatever just let me introduce you to the kid." Sonya said rolling her eyes.

They walk over to the small blonde child who was still playing quietly with his action figures. He looked up when he noticed the two adults approaching before squatting down to his height.

"Hi little one how are you?"

"Ok." He said curious about the adults' presence.

"My name is Veilandih. I'm a friend of your aunt Sonya. She's going to be very busy for the next couple of weeks so we were wondering if you'd like to come stay with me for a while."

"I don't even know you." Valentine scowled.

"Well, what do you want to know about me?" Veil said amused and slightly proud of the child's wariness.

"Are you married?" The 10-year-old questioned.

"I am my husband's name is Tony." Veil smiled.

"Like Iron Man?!" Val asked excitedly. "I like Iron Man he works with computers and builds stuff just like I want to do."

"Isn't that just a coincidence?" Veil grinned. "My Tony works with computers too. I seem to recall him flying around in a metal suit quite often."

The boy gasped in shock. His mouth was hanging open in a humorous gape.

"You are married to Iron Man?" Val asked shocked.

"I guess so. Do you want to meet him?" Veil asked mischievously.

"Yes!" Valentine squealed happily.


	39. Boxing and Notary

"The notary's here! Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?" Pepper called entering the gym.

Veil glanced over from his yoga mat with a welcoming smile earning one from the woman in return.

"I'm on happy time." Tony called back to her as he elbowed Happy in the face. "Sorry."

"What the hell was that?" Happy asked in disbelief.

Veil laughed at the scene moving into warrior position. He noticed another woman enter and glanced over and stared at her in confusion and slight recognition. She looked entirely too familiar. He was glad Roman took Val shopping this morning. Something about this woman was hitting him wrong.

"That's it. I'm done. What's your name lady?" Tony asked leaning on the ropes.

"Rushman. Natalie Rushman."

"Front and center. Come into the church." Tony gestured to the ring.

"No. You're seriously not gonna ask…" Pepper started but was cut off.

"If it pleases the court, which it does." Tony said.

'Natalie' got in the ring and Tony stepped out of it and moved to sit near pepper slyly eyeing his husband's downward facing dog.

"Pepper." He said.

"What?"

"Who is she?

"She is from legal. And you might scare her off if you keep ogling Veil like that. It's a bit disturbing."

Tony shrugged as he searched through Natalie's information. He and Veil made up before going to bed the night before and were back to their normal sassy husband ways. Veil was always forgiving.

"I need a new assistant, boss."

"Yes, and I've got three excellent potential candidates. They're lined up and ready to meet you."

"I don't have time to meet. I need someone now. I feel like it's her."

"No, it's not."

"It's really not." Veil snorts standing up straight and smirking down at his husband. He picked up his towel and placed a kiss to his husband's sweaty forehead.

"Thank you for letting Val stay. It means a lot to Sonya to help her out like this."

"No problem Coco Puff."

Veil glanced at the ring and noticed 'Natalie' watching them curiously.

"Rule number one, never take your eyes off your opponent." Happy says taking a swing at the notary only to have his hand grabbed and his body flipped over and pinned by the small woman.

"Oh, my God!" Pepper cried. "Happy."

"That's what I'm talking about." Tony said in amusement.

"I just slipped." Happy said trying to walk it off.

"You did?" Tony smirked.

"Yeah."

"Looks like a TKO to me." Tony said ringing the bell next to the ring.

Veil and 'Natalie' stared each other down. That move in the ring was not a fluke. That type of maneuverability required years of instruction. Veil's eyes narrowed. He knew where this woman was from.

"I don't know what you want with Tony, but you better not harm him. I have my ways of absolutely wrecking shield ."

"Of course." Natalie said cooly.

Veil watched her a minute longer before finally moving to leave the gym.


	40. Cars and Whiplash

"What do you think?" Veil asked the child beside him.

"It looks like it'll go fast I like it." Valentine replied happily.

"Hear that princess its child approved." Veil gloated.

"Yeah, yeah child approved but does it have the power to back it up?" The pre-teen princess snorted.

"Why don't we find out?" Veil challenged.

Veilandih gives the screen a concentrated stare as the countdown appeared on screen. He could see a smirking princess Shuri in the corner of his screen and gave her a wicked grin in return. As soon as go appeared he quickly tapped his controller to accelerate as his car sped up on the virtual track.

"Whose ever design wins is the one I'll manufacturer plus our usual bet." Veil informed.

"You give me a robot to tinker with or I give you a small piece of vibranium to tamper with, as long as my father approves, of course, otherwise I just consult on a project your R&D comes up with."

"Bingo princess."

"This is so cool is this a game." Val gasped.

"It's actually a simulation we use when testing out designs for cars to see how they may interact in certain scenarios." Veil explained. "But we do also use it to race cars we want to make."

"Basically we just want to see if it looks cool but it's safe to drive without any of the complications of actually building a prototype first." Shuri explained to the child.

"Wicked." Val breathed.

Veil casually spared a glance at one of the other screens in his set up but did a double-take and gasped before dropping his controller.

"Oh my God Tony!" Veil screeched in shock causing several things to go flying.

"What's going on?!" Shuri asked, alarmed by the elder's reaction. "Do I need to get my brother?!"

"Some maniac with electro whips is fighting my husband!" Veil freaked looking at the news footage from Europe.

"Can you pull up facial recognition to find out who it is?" Shuri questioned doing some typing on her end.

"Doing it now, Esihle run the scans and connect me to Pepper." Veil ordered as the video enlarged taking up every screen but the one Shuri occupied.

Esihle flicked her tail producing a cord that connected to the computer set up. A ringing started before a very panicked Pepper answered the phone.

"Kind of busy right now Veilandih." She said hurriedly.

"I can see that, but what I want is an explanation as to what the fuck is going on?!" Veil screeched seeing Tony get thrown around by a whip.

"You said a bad word." Val pointed out.

"He sure did." Shuri grinned on her screen.

Pepper went on to frantically explain what had occurred on their trip so far and Veil waited patiently for her to finish. An excited whoop filled the air drawing Veil's attention to the bird cat.

"Mum I got a match!" She chirped excitedly.

"Good girl." Veil grinned. "Let's give papa a heads up."


	41. Parties and Stupidity

The entire situation was getting out of hand. Veil wanted to strangle Tony. He walked to the sedan he had parked in front of the house and settled a sleepy Valentine into the back seat. The child immediately curled up in his blanket and went back to sleep. Pepper sighed handing him the two bags he had packed beforehand.

"Of all the stupid fucking inconsiderate things he has done, this is the worst." Veil hissed tossing the bags in the trunk as Rhodey approached the two.

"Hey Pepper." He started before warily eyeing the pajama-clad form of Veilandih. "V what's going on?"

"I don't know what to do." Pepper said in frustration as she gestured to the drunk form of Tony.

"You gotta be kidding me." Rhodey groaned as Tony fell over. "That's it, I'm making…."

"No, no, no. Don't call anyone." Pepper begged.

"Pepper. This is ridiculous. I just stuck my neck out for this guy."

"I know. I know. I get it. I'm gonna handle it, okay Just let me handle it." Pepper sighed glancing at Veil with tired eyes.

"I'll try." Veil scoffed. "Rhodey watch Val for a bit."

"Handle it. Or I'm gonna have to." Rhodey nodded moving to watch the car.

"You know, the question I get asked most often is, 'Tony, how do you go to the bathroom in the suit?'" Tony slurred before pausing a few seconds. "Just like that."

Veil sneered in disgust as he and Pepper approach.

"Does this guy know how to throw a party or what?" Pepper smiled to the crowd.

Veil gripped Tony's arm and tugged him back in irritation.

"I love you." Tony grinned making Veil's nose crinkle at the stench of alcohol on his breath.

"Unbelievable! Thank you so much. Tony, we all thank you so much for such a wonderful night. And we're gonna say goodnight now, and thank you all for coming." Pepper told the unruly crowd.

"No, no, no, we can't … Wait, wait, wait. We didn't have the cake. We didn't blow out the candles." Tony attempted to protest while shaking himself out of Veil's hands.

"You're out of control, okay? Trust me on this, okay?" Pepper hissed at him.

"You're out of control gorgeous." Tony grinned at her before looking back at Veil's glare. "Right beautiful?"

"It's time to go to bed." Pepper told him pushing Tony back into Veil's arms.

"Give me another smooch." Tony smirked at his angry husband.

Veil stared at him in disbelief before stepping back.

"Are you taking a piss?" He hissed. "No, I'm leaving Anthony. Call when you're sober."

Veil left the stage and marched past Rhodey hopping into his car. Rhodey approached the window with apologetic eyes.

"Sorry man. I don't know what's gotten into him."

"Neither do I, but I'm not exposing this kid to that shit in there."

"I understand."

Veil smiled at Rhodey before starting the car.

"Tell Esilhe to hide his aspirin." Veil smirked vindictively.

"Ok." Rhodey laughed.


	42. Donuts and Shield

"You've been very busy. You made your girl your CEO, you're giving away all your stuff. Got married.." Fury stated glancing at something behind Tony in mock surprise. "You let your friend fly away with your suit. Now, if I didn't know better…"

Tony's brow furrowed in confusion before the tired and lazily dressed Veilandih slid into the booth beside him with a vicious glare directed at the Shield director.

"Nick. ." He greeted in a clipped tone.

" Mr.Tokar, or should I be calling you Stark." Nick grinned. "I must admit I never saw the two of you as a thing."

Veil sniffed slouching in his seat further wrinkling his Tron Legacy shirt. Tony stared at his husband in shock. Veil had thoroughly ripped him a new one when he, as Esihle mischievously told him to, called the day after his disastrous birthday party. He knew he was on thin ice with him. Veil loved him, but he also had no issues smacking Tony upside the head for his stupid actions.

"You don't know better. I didn't give it to him. He took it." Tony said trying to rebuttal Fury's implied words.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. He took it? You're Iron Man and he just took it? The little brother walked in there, kicked your ass and took your suit?" Nick asked in mock disbelief as he turned to Romanoff. "Is that possible?"

"Well, according to Mr. Stark's database security guidelines, there are redundancies to prevent unauthorized usage. Except by Mr.Tokar." Romanoff answered watching the couple steadily.

"What do you want from me?" Tony groaned glancing at his silent husband.

"What do we want from you? What do you want from me? You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe. I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with." Nick ranted as Romanoff left and returned injecting something into Tony before either spouse could react.

"What the fuck?!" Veil asked alarmed as he turned Tony's head to see the injection site.

"Oh, God, are gonna steal my kidney and sell it?" Tony said to Romanoff as Veil watched in shock as sickly grey veins disappeared from sight. "Could you please not do anything awful for five seconds."

Veil looked into Tony's eyes to see guilt and sorrow staring back at him. Tony turned away from his shocked spouse and looked at the shield members in disbelief.

"What did she just do to me?"

"What did we just do for you? That's lithium dioxide. It's gonna take the edge off. We're trying to get you back to work." Nick informed him.

"Give me a couple of boxes of that. I'll be right as rain." Tony said feeling relief flood his body.

"It's not a cure, it just abates the symptoms." Romanoff told him.

"The palladium poisoning." Veil said drawing everyone's attention. "It's killing you."

"Yeah babe, It is."

Veil felt his heart drop.


	43. Bonding and Elements

"V I know you're still super mad at me about the whole dying thing and getting myself put on house arrest, but I need your hands for something." Tony said as he approached his husband with a familiar manic expression on his face.

Veil smirked clipping his curls up so they were out of the way. He shed his cardigan leaving himself in jeans and a plain white tee.

"I can't stay mad at you when I know we can have amazing makeup science together."

"Ooh talk nerdy to me baby." Tony grinned. "Let's go synthesize a new element."

"A new element." Veil said momentarily confused before his face broke out in a grin. "Holy shit this will be amazing."

The couple worked together bashing through walls, and building, what Tony called, a prismatic accelerator. At some point in the building process, the door to the workshop opened. Veil didn't glance up from welding two pipes together until he heard the distinct tone of Coulson in shock.

"What's this doing here?!"

Veil glanced up through his protective mask and immediately cut his torch off. He pushed up his mask to reveal his surprised face.

"Is that what I think it is?" Veil asked eyeing what he was sure was Captain America's shield.

"That's it. Bring that to me." Tony said gesturing the agent over.

"You know what this is?" Coulson asked him cautiously holding out the shield.

"It's exactly what I need to make this work." Tony gestures Coulson over to the pipes. "Lift the coil. Go, go. Put your knees into it."

Tony slid the shield underneath bringing a grin to Veil's face.

"There you go. And… Drop it. Drop it." Tony placed a leveler on top and smiled triumphantly. "Perfectly level. I'm busy. What do you want?"

"Nothing. Goodbye. I've been reassigned. Director Fury wants me in New Mexico." Coulson told him eyeing the shield in awe.

"Fantastic. Land of Enchantment." Tony replied going back to work.

"So I'm told." Coulson replied.

"Secret stuff?"

"Something like that. Good luck."

"Bye. Thanks." Tony said shaking his hand.

Veil grinned as Coulson looked his way. He waved gaining a nod from the stoic agent. Veil flipped his helmet back down and returned to his welding. Hours later they stood side by side admiring their work.

"You ready love?" Veil grinned casting sly glances at his husband's bare arms.

"Hit it J," Tony said giving the man a knowing grin.

"Initializing prismatic accelerator." Jarvis said.

Tony turns the wheel connected to the prism carefully.

"Approaching maximum power." Jarvis states.

Tony grabs a wrench and continues to turn the wheel even as the ray from the prism cuts through a support bean and the back wall. Eventually, it's concentrated on a mounted triangle which begins to glow blue.

"That was easy." Tony said pulling the glowing element out carefully.

"It's beautiful." Veil laughed.

"Congratulations sir. You have created a new element." Jarvis Informed.

Tony turns to catch Veil in a passionate kiss.


	44. Drones and Cowards

The celebration of the new element was short lived as one man's stupidity had now spiraled out of control. Tony was quick to put the new element in his chest, armor up, and grab Veil as he set off for the Hammer industries showcase. Veil protested the entire flight and even more when Tony dropped him in the crowd before heading to the stage to confront Justin. Veil looked around him at the crowd with worry in his eyes. They needed a way to get these people out before shit went south. He looked back at the stage to see Tony waving with an arm around Rhodey.

"I hope you have a bloody good plan for this love." Veil breathed eyes darting between the suits on stage.

"All these people are in danger. We gotta get them out of here. You gotta trust me for the next five minutes." Tony told his friend.

"Yeah, I tried that. I got tossed around your house, remember?" Rhodey shot back annoyed.

"Listen, I think he's working with Vanko." Tony whispered.

"Vanko's alive?" Rhodey asked surprised.

Tony slowly approaches Justin Hammer's smug form prompting the idiot to turn and face him.

"Where is he?" Tony asks.

"What?" Justin asks confused.

"Where's Vanko?" Tony clarifies growing impatient.

"Who?" Justin continued to play dumb.

"Tell me." Tony pressed.

"What are you doing here man?" Justin said continuing to play off the situation.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Rhodey suddenly exclaims as his suits guns come online and move to target Tony.

"That you?" Tony asked backing up.

"No, I'm not doing that. That's not me. I can't move. I'm locked up. I'm locked up!" Rhodey panics as his console aims at his best friend. "Get out of here. Go! This whole system's been compromised!"

"Let's take it outside." Tony takes off into the air as war machine and the other suits fire at and follows his retreating form.

"No, no!" Rhodey screams as rockets try to knock Tony from the air.

"Jarvis, break-in. I need to own him." Tony informed.

"Yes, sir." Jarvis confirmed.

"V, babe, you there?" Tony asked causing his husbands iron man ear cuff to light up.

"I'm here, but I am NOT FUCKING HAPPY WITH YOU!" Veilandih yelled helping people escape the rain of bullets. "You better come out of this alive Tony."

"Don't worry Coco Puff I got this, but I do need a favor from you."

"What?" Veil hissed ducking out of the way of a crumbling column.

"Use your Lion King magic to get people out of here."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah babe."

"I don't know, I don't have armor and what if people recognize me love?"

Tony could sense the trepidation and dread in his husband's voice. He knew that was the only thing that held Veil back from showing the world his true self.

"Then we give them something bigger to talk about." Tony assured.

Tony cut off his comm link to Veilandih just as Rhodey's came in.


	45. Peter and Parents

"Esilhe I need you dove." Veil called as he sent an air powered punch through a bots chest causing metal debris to fly around him.

"On my way mum!" The little voice chirped in his ear.

Veil ran through the plaza taking out any stray Hammer bots as he went. Most of the public had made it out of the main stage area, but something off to the side made Veil grit his teeth and pull his twin vibrainium khopesh from the tiny pocket dimension Loki demanded he tattoo on Veil before he left for Asgard. He ran forward towards the child standing in front of the bot but before his bade could tear it apart Tony swept down blasting a hole through it.

"Good job kid." Tony praised patting the child on the head.

Tony lifted his mask and tugged Veilandih by the arm into a tight embraced. He places a soft kiss to worrying lips before shooting back into the air. Veil sighed watching him go. A light tug on his jean covered leg drew his attention back to the child at his feet.

"You kissed Iron Man?" The child asked in wonder.

Veil laughed crouching down to the child's height before ruffling the hair of the masked covered kid.

"I do, quite often." He winked at the child before placing a finger to his lips. "But you can't tell a soul about it little one."

"It's a secret?" The child whispered.

"It is." Veil said holding out his pinkie. "Promise to keep it between us?"

"Promise." The child said eagerly as he wrapped a pinkie around the adult's.

"What's your name sweetheart?" Veil cooed standing once more.

"Peter."

"Well let's find your mum and dad Peter."

Veil took the child's hand and started moving toward the exit.

"Are you almost here Dove?" Veil asked picking up Peter in order to move faster.

"Almost there Mum, ETA 2 minutes."

"Can you check surveillance around the expo? Look for a distressed Caucasian couple, most likely brunettes, American, and possibly calling out the name Peter. Can you and Jarvis work on that?"

"Aye, aye mum!"

"Of course...mother."

"So cool." Peter whispered into the wakandan's shoulder.

Veil groaned in exasperation as he made it to the exit where crowds of people stood around scared and screaming. Veil clutched Peter tighter looking around for anyone that fits the description he told his AI kids.

"Found a match Mum." Esilhe said hovering before Veil as a couple rushed up behind the robotic feline. "I lead them here."

"PETER!" The woman cried tugging him into her arms. "Oh my baby! I'm so glad you're all right."

"Mommy I saw Iron Man!" Peter said in excitement. "And then brought me to find you!"

"Thanks for helping my son." Peter's father breathed finally looking up at Veil only to freeze in shock. "Oh my god."

Veil cracked a smile at the stunned couple.

"Lovely to meet you all, Peter is such a darling child."


	46. Reconcile and Futures

Tony sank into bed with a tired sigh. After the medal ceremony and even more press talks, all he wanted to do was sink into his bed and cuddle up to the soft warm skin of his beautiful partner. Veilandih had other priorities. Tony watched as his husband clamped his curly mane up as he spoke to someone in his native tongue through the beads on his wrists. As much as Tony loved hearing it, He really wanted his husband's attention at the moment.

"Hey, Godiva the bed's getting cold."

Veil rolled his eyes and huffed. He playfully slapped Tony's calve as he continued to speak.

"I'll call you back Grandmother my husband is being needy."

'Tell him hello for me.' She laughed. 'Your Grandfather and I are excited to visit."

"I am excited as well. I will speak with you more tomorrow."

'Of course dear.'

The beads light dimmed as the connection ended. Veilandih turned to his husband with a raised brow.

"To what do I owe the interruption, Anthony?"

Tony pouted at the use of his full name as he reached out to tug Veil into his arms.

"I just want time to cuddle my favorite chocolate truffle."

Veil snorted and turned in the man's arms in order to peck his cheek.

"I still haven't forgiven your secrecy. You could have died Tony. I would not have known if I didn't find that burned out core. I could have been helping you from the start, but you pushed me away. I am not ignorant my love, I have enough degrees to prove that. So in retaliation, I am not giving you a choice on one major life decision."

"It's the least I can do." Tony sighed. "I can't just chocolate my way out of this one."

"I decided to adopt Valentine." Veil said kissing his husband before falling onto the bed and curling up in the comforter. "Sonya was surprised, but she thinks her nephew deserves a family who can keep up with his mind. I think Val will be very happy when we tell him."

"Im sorry. You did what?" Tony asked in scandalized confusion.

"Congratulations we have a bundle of 5-year-old joy." Veil said turning away from Tony's shocked face. "If it helps he practically worships your technical prowess."

"It does not help and don't you dare go to sleep." Tony demanded.

"I'm sorry I thought I said you had no choice." Veil laughed.

Tony groaned muttering to himself before curling around Veil and nuzzling into his neck.

"How many kids are we up to now?" Tony said breathing in the spiced honey and pomegranate scent on his lover's skin.

"Well, there's Dum-E, Jarvis, U, Esihle, and now Valentine."

"At least now we have one that will appreciate my spaghetti." Tony mumbled feeling the draw of sleep.

Veilandih snickered turning to bury himself in Tony's glowing chest. He eyed the arc reactor with thoughtful yet concerned eyes.

"I love you."

"Love you too V."


	47. Media and Soldiers

"Steven Grant Rogers. I have been hired for the explicit task of integrating you into the 21st century. This includes catching up on popular culture, politics, and the world as a whole." Veil started reading from a paper given to him by a shield agent before looking up at the seated super soldier. "My name is Veilandih Tokar. I am one of the most respected businessmen in the world. I'm one of the few foreign business owners who works within the United States a majority of the time."

Steve nodded slowly absorbing the info dumped on him. Veil casually tossed the clipboard onto the table between them.

"Let's start you off with something simple, shall we? Why don't you start by taking a little visit to your Museum and learn a bit about how you affected the world as Captain America. After that, well I'm sure shield can take care of you considering they only paid me for about a week's worth of babysitting you."

"Did I do something to offend you?" Steve asked curiously and slightly offended.

"It's not you Mr. Rogers it's just this was asked of me extremely last minute and I'm a bit pissed off at the people who hired me. I'm going to do this to the best of my ability, make no mistake, I don't half-ass anything. I just get a tiny bit irritated when people wait to inform me of things no matter how much I get paid for it. My assistant Roman will also be helping so when I'm not around he will be for any questions you have."

Veil pushed his chair back and rose to his feet. Roman winked at Steve as he moved to follow. The PA slid a card across the table and Steve hesitantly picked it up.

"Call that number if you need any help. It's my personal cell so if I don't answer one of my partners will." Roman said.

"Partners?" Steve asked inquisitively.

"Yes. One of them is usually at home or near my cell if I'm not." Roman grinned. "I'll tell them you might call. Romi is a huge collector of howling commandos merch, she will flip her shit if you do."

Steve looked startled at his words.

"Flip her what?"

"It means she will be extremely happy to the point that she might cry." Roman informed. "Let's add common urban phrases to the list V."

"Noted." Veil sighed in the doorway.

Steve was very confused about what was happening.

"Come to think of it Dominic might pass out if he answers." Veil said thoughtfully. "Didn't he have a huge crush on Cap when he was a teenager?"

Roman snorted and shook his head.

"They're both crazy fans at heart."

"I'm a little confused." Steve said looking between them. "Why does everything you say sound contradictory to something else?"

"Welcome to America." Veilandih smiled leaving the room.

Roman watched his bosses retreating form before turning back to Steve.

"Come on, I'll buy you coffee."


	48. Lunch and Confessions

**_AN-I have not abandoned this, but like a lot of people End Game messed me up. A LOT. So I needed to shift plot points and make a decision as to where I want to go once I hit Infinity war. This chapter will give you a hint. It was an idea I toyed with since I saw Black Panther and since I challenged myself on how many characters I will save from death, 5 that I chose before infinity war came out, I have to let him go. It hurts me but At least I have a long while of writing before I get to that point. At some point, I might do a spin-off AU where I save him, but for now, I will continue to mostly follow MCU. Thanks for your patience with me. This arc will be V's 'solo movie' White Lion (I finally break down V's powers) it goes about 13-15 chapters!_**

"Thank you for agreeing to this Landi." Everett smiled. "It really is wonderful to be able to catch up again."

"You know I would never turn down the opportunity to talk with you Evie." Veil grinned.

The two were dressed down for a change and situated in a dinner they frequented in their youth. The owner still remembered them, and their usual orders were quickly brought out to them. Over 20 years and the former couple were still able to speak as if nothing had changed. However, the reality that a lot has changed hung over Everett's head like a storm cloud.

"How are things with…..Tony going?" Everett asked hesitantly.

Veil frowned at his hesitant words and sighed.

"We don't have to talk about him if you don't want to."

"He is a part of your life Landi. I don't want you to feel awkward with me. Please don't feel like you have to hide things from me." Everett soothed.

Veil smiled at the other man. This was one of the reasons he fell in love with Everett Ross. It was also one of the reasons he still thought about him often.

"I just don't want our relationship to be strained." Veil relented. "I left our relationship thinking that it would be less painful for both of us, but in the end, I just ruined it."

"You didn't ruin anything. I could never hate you Landi." Everett insisted before swallowing nervously. "I loved you then and I still love you now."

Veilandi stared at the other man in shock. He couldn't believe this.

"You never moved on." Veil breathed as tears pricked the corners of his eyes.

"No. I didn't." Everett sighed gazing out over the restaurant. "I know we promised each other that we would try and find other people and move on with our work, but I could only do the latter. And I fully respect your marriage to Tony so I would never try to force our past on you. I just never found anyone who made me as happy as you did."

Veil sniffed as tears trailed down his cheeks.

"I love you too Evie." He warbled. "But I love my husband just as much. Maybe at another time, we would be together again."

"In another time I would have proposed before you left on that plane." Everett sighed. "But I was a coward who listened to every word that fell from your lips. You wanted me to succeed above all else and I have. But I lost the most wonderful thing that has ever happened in my life in the process."

"We just were not in the right place in our lives. It would have been unfair for you to wait for me for so long, and unfair for me worry about you for weeks on end while you were away at training. Neither of us had time for long-distance." Veil explained.

"Quite a pair." Everett breathed.

"Oh Evie." Veil smiled. "We are fools."


End file.
